


Galar High

by CertainVICTORy



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Drama, Drug mention in the later chapters, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gloria is Asexual, Gun mention in later chapters, Kidnapping in later chapters, M/M, Masaru | Victor and Yuuri | Gloria are Twins, Pining, Romantic Angst, Slow Burn, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 48,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23677957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertainVICTORy/pseuds/CertainVICTORy
Summary: Victor meets Hop on his way home from club practice and suddenly starts feeling things about him. With the help of his twin sister Gloria, can he win the heart of this new boy in his life?
Relationships: Hop/Masaru | Victor
Comments: 50
Kudos: 125





	1. A chance encounter!

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a small scenario but it got turned into a fanfic series! I'll try to update whenever I can haha! So enjoy!

Victor knelt down and took a deep breath; he gripped the two-meter long yumi in deep and utter zen. He slowly stood up and notched the arrow on the bowstring. Victor turned towards the target and stared at it while drawing the arrow, not losing focus of the black and white goal. He took a deep breath and released the arrow, sending it soaring across the sky, barely missing the center of the target.

“Excellent work, Victor!” Mr. Kabu clapped as Victor sighed and turned towards his teacher.

“I still think my form is a little off, though.” Victor stared at the arrow, which was impaled onto the target.

“Nonsense! For a first-year student, you are one of our best archers we have! Even your superior thinks of you in high regard!” Victor looked over at Red, a Third-year, and nodded as the older man smiled softly at him.

“I’d still like to get a bit more practice in before heading home if that’s okay with you, Mr. Kabu.” As the other club members left the room, Victor stood alone and began to notch another arrow. He slowly pulled back the string…

“HEY, VIC!” The sudden shrill sound boomed across the room, causing him to stumble and miss his intended target.

“GAH, GLORIA! Would you please stop doing that!” Victor angrily stared at his twin sister, who walked in wearing her school uniform. She wore a green plaid skirt with a green tie to match. Over it was her grey cardigan that she usually liked to wear. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail with a bright pink bow.

“Sorry, I was just bored waiting for you!” She sat down and watched as her brother slowly began to string another arrow.

“I was just about to leave to come get you...I thought you had karate practice today?” 

“We did, but had to end it early when I kind of accidentally hurt a guy.” Victor let out a loud sigh as he shot another arrow at the target. 

“You didn’t break a guy’s arm again, did you?”

“Not this time! He had it coming though...he insulted you!” Victor smiled softly and set the bow down and walked up to his sister.

“I appreciate you sticking up for me, but don’t get us into any more trouble than necessary! It took me days to convince the principal to lighten your detention last time!” Gloria laughed and gave Victor a water bottle.

“And I thank you for that little brother!”

“Gloria, we are twins…”

“Yeah, but I came out first!”

“By like five minutes!”

“Sure sure whatever makes you feel better, Vic. Anyways I’m hungry...let’s go stop by the convenience store on our way home.” Victor let out a massive sigh as he went to put up his equipment.

“Alright, but you’re paying this time.” Victor dressed in his uniform, consisting of black slack, a white dress shirt, and a green plaid tie. He put on a red sweater vest and brushed his hair. He looked at the mirror and frowned as his hair swirl stood out. He walked out of the locker room and walked next to Gloria, “Ready?” she gave a quick nodded, and they headed out of the club room.

* * *

The twins walked out of Galar High and continued on their way home, waving at other students as they passed by. “So you ready for your karate match coming up?” Victor looked over at his sister, who looked up from her phone.

“Of course! I’m always ready to crush the opposition!” She jabbed the air and did a quick kick.

“That’s good to hear! I’ll be rooting for you!” 

“What about you? Do you still plan on joining the other second and third years in the competition this year?” Victor stopped and frowned,

“I don’t know yet, I still think I have a lot to learn, and I might slow them down…” Just then Gloria paused and grabbed his cheeks,

“Victor, Dominic Williams! Do you even hear yourself right now? Everyone says that you’re great at archery! Even Mr. Kabu thinks so too! I’d say you just go for it! What do you have to lose?”

“My dignity...my self-respect… and my lunch.” Victor laughed a bit, earning a small jab from his sister. “I’m joking...I’ll give it some thought, alright!” The twins stopped in front of the convenience store and went inside. Victor looked over at the chocolate section and browsed the many options. _I guess I’ll go simple today and get some milk chocolate today! Oh, and it’s the last one!_ He thought as he went to reach for the box. Just then, he touched another hand by accident.

“Oh, my bad man!” He looked up and saw a boy who was taller than Victor. He had dark purple hair, golden eyes, and dark brown skin. He held up a soccer ball and laughed as he stared at Victor,

_He goes to our school, I believe...I recognize that hair I mean someone with purple hair is bound to stand out at least._ Victor thought as he locked eyes with the mysterious boy.

“That chocolate is pretty good; It always gives me a nice boost after club practice! Don’t worry though you can have it mate!” The boy smiled, causing something to stir inside Victor’s stomach.

_Say something, Victor!_ He slowly opened his lips, “Thanks, I’ll take your word for it, man! I mean, mate!”

“Haha, you’re funny for a little guy, I’ll see you around!” The boy laughed as he went to grab another snack, paid, and left while waving back at Victor.

“Yeah, I’ll see you around…” Victor’s heart began to beat at a breakneck pace. “Just who was that guy?”

“Oh, you mean Hop?” Gloria popped up from behind him while drinking a soda. 

“You know him, Gloria?” She shrugged slightly

“Kinda, all I know he’s the ace of the soccer team and wants to take the team to nationals just like his big brother did all those years ago.” Victor then began to connect the dots.

“Wait, he’s Leon’s brother? I didn’t know he had a younger brother?”

“Not many people did, but I guess he wanted to make a name for himself, he’s kind of cute, right? Just your type too.” Gloria grinned as she saw Victor blush wildly,

“Yeah, he kind of is...wait...Gloria! YOU KNOW?” Victor stood back in shock as he turned a bright red,

“Victor, I saw how you eyed him, and believe me, that ain’t just a pacing glance…” Victor then put his hands up to his head,

“What do I do? Sure he’s cute, but how do I go about this?” Gloria then grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Victor, I will do my best to help you get with Hop. Let me do some digging for you, alright?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, as long as you help me study for my exams, then we can call it even.” Just then, Victor glared at his sister.

“So, you did have an ulterior motive…” Gloria laughed and stuck her tongue out at him,

“Anyways, let’s go home! I’m sure mom is worried about us!” With that, she ran out of the store, with Victor in tow. Victor thought about the encounter with Hop and blushed as he saw his smiling face.

  
_Hop huh? I wonder if a guy like him would be interested in a guy like me?_


	2. A faithful first impression

Victor sat in the classroom, listening to the lecture about some history lessons by Mr. Kabu. Victor sighed and looked out the window; I _already know this stuff...anyways._ Victor closed his eyes and saw an image of Hop smiling at him. Victor felt his ears burn up in embarrassment as he pictured Hop close to him...

“Victor!” Mr. Kabu’s voice shook the boy awake, and he quickly stood up,

“Y...Y...Yes, sir!” Victor shouted as his classmates laughed,

“Can you tell me the significance of the number 227?” Without skipping a beat, Victor composed himself,

“That’s the date Galar entered the age of technological prosperity,” Victor looked at Mr. Kabu, who sighed and went back to teaching. Victor slowly slumped to his desk and buried his face into his book; _that_ _was close,_ he thought.

After school, Victor decided to go see his sister; he glanced at his watch, “Oh, it looks like she is at practice today. I’ll go visit her!” He picked up his bag and headed towards the gym.

Gloria dodged her opponent’s jabs in quick succession, “Hehe, you’re gonna have to better than that!” She smirked and dodged one more punch before tripping them with her foot and grabbing their arm and flipping them over onto the ground.

“Good work there, Gloria,” Coach Bea bowed to her and patted her back, “Your form is excellent today!”

“Thank you so much.” She bowed to Bea and smiled as she noticed Victor walking up to her with a bottle of water,

“Nice going out there, sis, but your footwork needs some tightening up.” She frowned as she downed her water in a flash,

“I still beat the guy, didn’t I?” Victor laughed and shook his head,

“You leave yourself open far too much, someone’s bound to exploit that one day,” She ruffled his hair and smirked.

“Not gonna happen! After all, you just told me a weakness of mine that I can easily fix.” The twins laughed at each other,

“That’s what I’m here for...anyways, I have no practice today, so I thought it’d be okay if I just chilled here for a bit.”

“Hop has soccer practice, why don’t you watch him play?” Victor blushed as Gloria pocked his face, “Oh, looks like calm and collected Victor is flustered, I wonder why?”

“It’s cause his sister is saying things she shouldn’t! I need to get some air…” He walked away in a huff. 

* * *

Victor walked around the school while listening to his music, _go see Hop, what a joke...he probably doesn’t know I exist..._ Victor heard the sound of cheering and looked over and noticed that he was at the soccer practice field. _Did I unknowingly walk here?_ He thought, he quickly spun around and heard the familiar voice of Hop.

“Pass it to me!” He called out to his teammate and jumped and kicked the ball straight into the net. His teammates cheered and congratulated him. Victor stood there and stared at Hop as he watched him play, 

_‘Wow, he’s amazing, that form, that power...those muscles...wait, Victor...hold on there buddy did you just stare at Hop’s muscles...I mean, they are kind of nice.’_ He shook his head as he kept staring at Hop, dripping with sweat. _Gloria was right; he is kind of cute…_

“Look out!” A voice called out to Victor, but it was too late. The next thing Victor knew, he was on his back, his face kissing the ball. He laid there, dizzy and groggy from the impact of the ball. His jaw felt sore, and he could hardly stand.

“Oh, geez, you’ve done it now, Hop!” He heard a voice from the side as he saw a figure appear above him.

“Hey, are you okay? That ball hit you pretty hard…” As Victor’s visioned cleared, he saw the familiar face of Hop looking down at him.

“I think so…” He slowly stood up and brushed the dirt and grass off of him. 

“Are you sure that ball hit you pretty hard.” Hop walked up to Victor and stared at him. Victor began to turn bright red as a tomato and quickly turned around.

“Yes, I’m fine, I’m used to getting hit on my body...from archery!” Victor quickly explained himself earning a small chuckle from Hop,

“I gotcha, well, if you’re okay, then I’ll leave you be.” Victor nodded and turned around, suddenly his vision began to blur, and he fell to the ground.

* * *

Victor slowly fluttered his eyes and looked around. ‘‘ _Where_ _am I?’ ’_ His vision began to focus, and he slowly sat up, “I’m in the school infirmary, how did I get here, and why does my head hurt?” He touched the back of his head and felt a bandage.

“Oh, you’re awake!” He looked up and saw the school nurse who smiled at him and walked towards his bed.

“How long was I out?”

“Only for about an hour...thank goodness Hop was here to carry you to me...it looks like you got a mild concussion, but you’ll be okay after some rest.”

“Wait, Hop carried, me? To the infirmary? It’s like a few buildings away...which means.” Victor blushed as he imagined Hop carrying him unconscious. 

“Glad you’re awake, mate!” Victor quickly turned his head, and Hop was sitting down next to him, smiling happily.

“Hop!” Victor jumped and threw his hands back in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you hear what Nurse Joy said? I carried you when you passed out on the field, glad you’re doing okay!” He smiled wide and stood up,

“You didn’t have to carry me... don’t you have practice or something?” Hop shook his head and gave Victor some water,

“I felt awful for kicking you with the ball, so I asked my coach to let me take off to make sure you got better again...I hope you don’t mind.” Victor grinned and looked towards the ground,

“It’s fine...thanks, though.”

“I never got your name since I last saw you at the convenience store. I suppose you already know my name, so it’s only fair that I get to know yours!” 

“Oh, I’m Victor...you might’ve seen me before, I’m part of the archery club.” Hop then smiled wide and nodded,

“Oh!! I thought I recognized that hair swirl! You’re that first year that’s all scary and unfriendly looking!”

_That’s harsh..._ Victor whined,

“I don’t know what makes people say that about you, though. I think you seem like a nice guy!”

_Does he think I’m charming?_ Victor smiled to himself as he heard loud footsteps coming towards the room.

“VICTOR!” Gloria burst through the room and looked around frantically. She quickly spotted him and hugged him tightly,

“Oof! Hi Gloria…”

“Oh, man, when I went to check up on you at the practice field, I heard you got hit with a soccer ball, and I ran here as fast as I could!” She quickly turned towards Hop and grabbed him by the collar of his jersey, “You! You better not have done anything to my brother Hop!” She glared at him as he threw his hands back,

“It was an accident, I swear! I didn’t mean to hit him with the ball,” Hop looked over at Victor as a desperate cry for help.

“Gloria, he’s right. It was kind of my fault for just standing there in the first place. Now please put him down.” Gloria slowly put Hop down and sat next to Victor,

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Can you stand?” Victor shook his head and laid back down,

“Nurse says I’ll need some more rest, can you call mom to tell her we will be coming home late?” Gloria gave a quick nod as she headed out the door.

“That’s some sister you have there, Victor.”

“Yeah, she may be a bit aggressive, but she’s a kind person.”

“Is she seeing someone?” Victor’s heart dropped as he saw Hop look at his sister.


	3. A cry for help

“What?” A lump formed in Victor’s throat, his stomach churned as if he wanted to throw up.

“Yeah, is Gloria seeing anyone?” Hop looked at him with an innocent expression.

“I’m sorry, Hop, can you just go...I don’t feel so well.” Victor felt sick to his stomach.

“Are you sure? I can stay with you if you want.”

“JUST GO!” Victor shouted loudly causing Gloria to run inside,

“Victor?” Gloria looked over at her brother, then back at Hop, and then nodded, “Hop, I think you need to go.”

“Uh, okay, I’m sorry if I caused you two any trouble.” Hop slowly stood up and walked away. He glanced back at Victor, then back at Gloria and shut the door.

“Victor, what happened? Did he seem interested in you?” Victor’s eyes began to well up and become red. Gloria immediately hugged him and massaged his back, “Let it all out, Vic.”

“Gloria….” He cried out. Victor was always a very emotional kid; even growing up, Gloria would console him when things went wrong, or his heart was broken. Victor was always calm and collected; he hated showing weakness to people. Gloria pulled him away and wiped the tears from his face,

“Come on, Victor, tell me what happened?” Victor took a few desperate breaths and looked up at his sister,

“I don’t think Hop is interested in me... he’s more interested in you.”

“What? Hop likes me?” Gloria looked out the door and then back at her brother,

“Yeah, he asked if you were seeing someone. I always knew I wasn’t good enough for love...you were much more beautiful than I was...I should’ve just let go of this crush when I had a chance.” Victor rubbed his eyes and cried more. Just then Gloria started to bust out laughing,

“Oh my gosh, that’s so rich! Hop thinks he has a chance with me?”

“Gloria?” Victor sniffed and swung his legs over the bed, Gloria smiled wide and hugged him,

“Victor, I don’t feel the same way towards him...in fact, I never had any kind of those feelings towards anyone. Why do you think I rejected all those people when we were younger?”

“I thought you were waiting for the right person?” Gloria chuckled and shook her head,

“Nah, Victor! I did a lot of thinking and found that the whole dating thing? That’s not for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know love. I have you, don’t I?”

“So, are you gonna crush Hop’s heart for breaking mine?” Gloria cracked her knuckles and raised her sleeve,

“Not unless you want me to. But it’s good for you since you can try to win Hop’s heart!” Victor wiped his face with a nearby tissue and took a deep breath,

“How, would I do that? According to him, I’m unfriendly and terrifying,” Victor gripped at the bed and looked towards the ground,

“You gonna let one thing get you down? Vic, you’re kind, caring, smart, and compassionate! Don’t you think he only said those things cause the only times he saw you were during your club practice?”

“Huh, I guess so, but I don’t even know what he likes? You think some archer has a chance against the literal ace of the soccer team?” Gloria gave him a thumbs up and smiled,

“If it’s one thing us William’s can do, is never give up! I mean, just look at you and me! We never would’ve been this amazing at our clubs if we just went and gave up! Victor, you should take that chance and win over your man!” Victor let out a small laugh as Gloria helped him stand.

  
  


“Gloria, you always know how to be inspirational. I admire you for that! Mind helping me up? All that has made me tired and hungry!” 

“You always have my back, and I will have yours! Now let’s get some food for you. I’ll pay this time.” 

“But you paid last time, let me-” Gloria shook her head,

“No, you had your heartbroken, let your sister treat you this time! You can owe me later when you win Hop’s heart, alright?” Victor let out a soft smile and nodded,

“Thanks, for everything.”

“No problem.”


	4. The secret to success

“Is your face gonna be okay, Vic?” Gloria touched the bandaid on the bridge of her brother’s nose as they walked to the school,

“Ow! Well, not if you touch it, but other than that I’m fine. I do feel a little dizzy on the back of my head” He scowled and rubbed the back of his head. As he walked, he spotted Hop standing near the gates of the school. He bit his lip and gripped his bag as he walked close to Gloria,

“Hey, you gonna be alright?” Gloria looked over at her brother and then back at Hop. 

“Yeah, I’ll be okay, I just feel weird around him that’s all. Like it’s a mix of infatuation and sadness. Like I get butterflies from seeing him, but at the same time, wasp are flying around too.” He laughed while looking at the ground. Gloria looked up and saw that Hop had noticed him. She took Victor’s hand and held it.

“Gloria, hi there...and Victor…” Hop waved at the twins smiling, but his face immediately dropped when they got closer. 

“What are you doing here? Haven’t you caused enough trouble for Victor?” Gloria glared at him and continued to walk,

“Wait, let me explain, please!” Hop stood in front of them and eyed Victor,

“Gloria, let’s hear him out…” Victor looked up at Hop, who smiled softly at him.

“Thanks, first I wanted to apologize to you, Victor.” He bowed at him, “one, for hurting you with the soccer ball, and two for hurting you in some way. I don’t know what I did during the infirmary, but you were in distress, and I had no right to stick around. For that, I’m sorry!” 

“Oh, thank you, Hop. But I’m fine now, thanks for apologizing, at least.” Victor pulled along Gloria as they started to walk, but then Hop grabbed his free hand.

“Wait!” Hop’s hand felt rough but warm and comforting. Victor began to blush as he froze and stared at Hop, “Let me make it up to you, Victor.” Victor locked eyes with Hop.

“What?” Victor let go of Gloria’s hand and started to blush wildly,

“Yeah, I felt terrible yesterday about all I’ve done to you...can we hang out after school for some food? You can pick whatever!” Victor dropped his jaw and looked over at Gloria, who smiled at him.

“Uh, sure, I have practice today, but it shouldn’t take long.”

“Great! I’ll see you both after school!” Hop waved at them as the first bell started to ring.

“Wait, both?” Victor’s heart dropped slightly as he saw Hop runoff. He leaned against the wall and sighed, “He almost had me there, Gloria...I thought he was finally gonna ask me on a date or something...turns out I might just end up third-wheeling again.”

“Maybe you don’t have to, Victor.” Gloria smiled wide and grabbed her brother’s shoulders. “See, he may have invited us two, but I can make up an excuse not to come and just leave it to you two!”

“And here I thought I was the smart one, that’s pretty underhanded of you. I just hope I can somehow win Hop’s heart.”

“Just be yourself!” Victor rolled his eyes and looked at his sister,

“Myself? I’m awkward as hell! I don’t even know what I would talk about with him...I might just end up messing things up!”

“Victor, just relax, I know you can do it! You never give up and always take on new challenges with a smile!” Gloria hugged him and patted his back, “I’ll be around if you need me, okay?”

“Thanks, Gloria, for everything, and here, you might need these.” He handed his notebook to her,

“Your math notes?” Victor nodded,

“I saw that you were struggling with this week’s lessons, so I took the liberty of writing out the steps to better for you to understand. It also has formulas and stuff that will help with the test later this week.”

“Oh, dang! How’d you know?” She hugged the notebook and looked back at her brother, who scratched his face and blushed,

“Well, I kind of looked at your homework. Don’t get me wrong, but it looked like you wanted to do better at the math than just average.” Gloria then hugged him tightly,

“You’re the best! Now let’s get through this day so you can have that date with Hop!”

“It’s not a date!” Victor turned bright red as his sweater as he hid his face from Gloria, 

“Come on, Victor, you know it’s a date hehe, you can’t hide your cute face from people!” She started to tickle him, and he kicked around,

“Gloria! You know I’m ticklish! S...Stop it! We are gonna be late for class!” He laughed out loud and froze as he saw the other students look at them. He coughed and turned towards his sister. “Gloria, I think we should go now.”

“Right… I’ll see you later, alright?” With that, the twins entered the school.

* * *

Victor took a deep breath and drew the yumi and looked at the target. As he pulled the string, an image of Hop smiling appeared into his mind, _Hey Victor, want to go on a date?_ Victor blushed and immediately let go of the arrow and saw it veer off and hit the grass.

“Victor, are you okay?” Red walked up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You’ve never missed a shot before.”

“Huh? I’m fine...just a little distracted today.” He bit his lip as he stared at the arrow that was stuck into the ground.

“Young Victor distracted? That’s something you don’t see every day.” Mr. Kabu walked up to both of them and ruffled Victor’s hair, “are you sure you’re alright?” Victor bowed to his teacher,

“I’m sorry Mr. Kabu, this will be a one-time thing, I promise it won’t happen again.” He looked up, and Mr. Kabu sighed,

“If something is on your mind, you can always take a break from practice today.” Victor shook his head,

“I’ll be okay. I’m sorry for making you worry.” Victor took a deep breath and spaced his feet apart. He slowly drew the bow and looked at the target.

“Uh, I’m sorry, but is there a Victor here?” Victor heard the voice of Hop, and he immediately let go of the arrow, and it barely missed the target. He turned and found Hop talking with his clubmates.

“Hop? What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna get Gloria first?” Hop bowed and walked up to him,

“I tried to but, she’s kind of hard to approach, and I got scared.” Hop scratched his face causing Victor to let out a small laugh,

“So that’s why you went to me first.” 

“Yeah, I find you easier to talk to for some reason.” As those words came out, Victor’s ear’s turned red, and he looked away.

“Thanks, I guess...but you really shouldn’t be around here, it gets kind of dangerous. I have a few more minutes left of practice. Mind waiting for me in the club room? There’s a window nearby, so you can watch if you don’t mind.” Hop nodded and walked away.

“I guess we found out what’s distracting Victor.” a few of Victor’s clubmates laughed as they ruffled his hair,

“Oh be quiet. He’s just an acquaintance, there’s nothing between us.” He shook his head and prepared his stance again, _at least not yet._ He shook his head and cleared his mind and perfectly shot the middle of the target. Silence filled the room as Victor was hitting the perfect shot after shot. The clubroom was Still as Victor’s face became emotionless and more focused. As he landed the final arrow, he turned towards Mr. Kabu, who smiled at him. 

“Impressive as always, if only we can figure out how to tap into that talent of yours.” Victor bowed,

“I’m sorry for being distracted earlier, I’ll be going now.” He turned and walked towards the locker room to change. As he headed out, Hop ran up to him, mouth agape.

“Victor, what was that back there??” 

“What was what?” Hop immediately pointed to the targets and Victor raised his eyebrow,

“Oh, that was just archery practice.” Hop grabbed his shoulders,

“Just, archery practice? I’ve never seen that many shots so accurately and precisely. It felt like you were a very different person. I’ve heard stories of this terrifying first year who could calculate shots on the fly. You have to teach me that way of thinking!” Victor stopped and crossed his arms.

“Now, why would you want to learn about archery?” Hop shook his head and grinned,

“No, not that, the way you can accurately predict how and where the arrow will fly, so it hits its intended destination! I want to learn something like that for my soccer practice! I bet that if you teach me, I could score goals through even the tightest goalie!” He grabbed Victor’s hands and bowed to him, “Please, you have to!”

“I don’t know, it takes a lot of mental fortitude, and once we start, it won’t be easy.”

“I can take it! I want to be just as good as my brother, if not better than him! You have to help me! I’ll treat you to food and get all the chocolate you want!” Hearing Hop, plead to him, made Victor’s heart flutter. 

“Well, if you put it that way….I guess I could teach you a thing or two.” Just then, Hop jumped up and hugged him. _Oh gosh, he’s hugging me!!_ Victor felt Hop’s arms hug him tightly as he Hop shouted with excitement.

“Alright! I’ll make you proud!” He then grabbed Victor’s arm, and they headed out of the clubroom. “Let’s go get some food, and we can begin our first lesson!” Victor smiled as he was getting dragged along. He looked over and saw Gloria peek from behind and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and grinned as he was a little bit closer to winning Hop’s heart.


	5. A day of fun!

“So the first thing that you should know about kicking a soccer ball is that geometry is an important factor in it. Specifically angles.” Victor sat down in the cafe with Hop across from him. Hop stared at the notebook, spread in front of him, and nodded as Victor drew out a goal and multiple angles of approach.

“I see, so as long as I adjust my foot accordingly, I can always hit the mark depending on where I am near the goal?”

“Sort of, the main thing is that the more you can see the goal, the higher the chance you’ll hit your mark, but it’s never that easy to do since, of course, there are other people around trying to stop you.” Hop scratched his head as Victor drew multiple lines from “Hop” to the goal.

“That’s a lot to think about, to be honest.” Hop rested his chin on the table and sighed,

“It’s not something someone can get in one day. But if you’re persistent enough, I know you can do it!” Victor let out a soft smile as he closed his notebook.

“It’s a shame that Gloria couldn’t join us, but I guess she’s super busy with karate practice...how can someone like that end up with a passion like that?” Hop sipped his soda as Victor packed away his papers.

“Well, it all started when we were younger...our father left us when we were kids, and our mother had to raise us both on her own. I tried my best to be the support system for my mother and my sister. One day while I was out shopping. A few of our dad’s old enemies tried to hurt me...thankfully, Gloria came to save the day, but she ended up hurt pretty badly. She looked at me and smiled despite being in so much pain, and told me that she’d be there for me just as I was there for her.” Victor put his elbows on the table and sighed, 

“Wow, I’m so sorry that you both had to go through with that...but I can tell that you love your sister.” Hop sat back and looked at the ceiling, “My brother was always an ace at soccer, all my parents ever did was praise him. In a way that made me kind of jealous, but it fueled my drive to be a much stronger ace than him. But I’d end up just short of my goal in middle school.” He then looked back at Victor and smiled wide, “But thanks to you, I can achieve that goal! With your help, I can be better than Lee ever could!”

“That’s some dream, Hop. I hope I can help in any way I can!” Victor smiled back and winced as the bridge of his nose still stung.

“Are you okay?” Victor nodded and rubbed his face,

“Yeah, I’m alright, I guess I still haven’t recovered from your kick,” He let out a laugh as Hop pouted,

“I still feel awful for doing that to you. Is there anything I could do for you? Anything at all?”

_How about being interested in me a bit more,_ Victor mused, “I mean, apologizing is enough for me.” Just then Hop stood up,

“But you already agreed to help me with this; there must be something I can do to make it up to you?”

“Hop, it’s fine, but I’ll hold you up on that offer later on. Is that fair?” Victor chuckled as Hop sat down,

“Alright then, but just say the word, and I’ll do what you ask, okay?”

_Careful what you say, Hop..._ Victor laughed to himself as he glanced at his watch. “Oh, looks like Gloria is gonna meet me back at home, I guess I’ll head home too.” Victor grabbed his bag and began to stand up,

“Wait!” Hop grabbed Victor’s wrist and pulled him a bit closer. “It’s not too late; I could show you around the shopping district if you want to.” 

“What’s the reason, Hop?” Victor raised his brow and waited,

“Well, since you told me that you had to take responsibility when your dad left, I felt like you’ve never had fun before.”

“I’ve had fun! Just in my own way…” Victor blushed and pouted as Hop laughed,

“No, I mean like actual fun, like hanging out with friends or something!” 

“Oh, I guess so…” Victor thought about it, and sure enough, the only person he’s hung out with was Gloria. Hop let out a huge smile and took Victor’s hand.

“Great! Let’s go!” Both boys headed out the door and walked together towards the arcade. Gloria appeared from behind the bushes and smiled,

“Go get em, Vic! I know you can do it!” She turned around and walked towards the cafe as a couple of students walked passed her.

“Did you hear that Hop is hanging out with some guy from the archery club? A star player like him hanging out with some twerp with a bow...what’s he thinking?” 

“What if they are dating? Hop’s been always looking for someone lately.”

“Nah man, I don’t think he’s interested in him; he seems too focused on the soccer team.”

“Yeah, Imagine if they dated? That crybaby would just hold Hop back, which will cause the soccer team to plummet. I bet that kid would just make Hop carry his books or watch him shoot his arrows like some nerd.” Amid their laughter, Gloria smiled and walked up to them.

“Excuse me, fellas, but I can’t help but overhear you insulting my brother…” She punched a nearby pole, causing a big dent to appear, “Mind telling me what you called him? Some nerdy crybaby?” The two students fell back onto the ground.

“We didn’t mean it, Gloria! Were just joking about your crybaby of a brother!” The students sat back in fear and quickly ran away as she stomped the ground, leaving a massive crater in her wake. She sighed and looked towards Victor’s direction.

“You deserve to be happy, Victor. It’s not fair that I got to have a good childhood, thanks to you and mom. So it’s my turn to give you the one thing you lost!” She smiled as she walked home. She thought back to their childhood...something changed in Victor after the incident he became more serious and grown-up. Like the childlike wonder, just got sapped away from his eyes. Gloria looked at her wrist and still saw the scar that ran through it. “Victor, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you genuinely smile, I don’t want to see you cry like that ever again. It’s a promise.”

* * *

At the arcade, Hop pulled Victor inside and opened his arms up, “here we are! The arcade!” Victor looked around the building in awe, the flashing lights, and the sounds of kids laughing and playing games filled his ears with wonder.

“Wow! So this is an arcade!” Victor’s eyes lit up as he turned his head around.

“See anything you want to try out first, Vic?” Hop quickly covered his mouth and waved his arms around, “Oh my bad, it slipped! I heard Gloria call you that, and I thought it was kind of a cute way to say your name...I hope you’re not mad!” Victor giggled a bit and blushed slightly,

“I don’t mind; I only let people that I like, call me that.” Victor then realized what he said, and he quickly pointed, “Oh, let’s try that one Hop!” He looked at a gun game and ran over to it.

“That one? Oh yeah, so basically, you just point and click the targets as they appear. Think you can handle it?” Hop handed Victor a red gun and put the coin in the slot. The game hummed as it started up. Victor saw a war-torn land that was halfway destroyed by zombies.

“So I just point and click at the zombies as they appear?” Victor looked over at Hop who grabbed his gun,

“Yep, good luck!” Hop smiled as he began clicking at the zombies who appeared on the screen. Victor pulled the trigger and defeated a zombie. He smiled a bit as he clicked more and more, earning more points for them,

“This is kind of fun, Hop!”

“Really? I’m glad! Don’t let your guard down!” A small crowd appeared around them as they both were able to clear the levels with ease. 

_‘This game is pretty easy since aiming with this is kind of the same as archery; Victor_ smiled at Hop as they were ready to face the final boss. Victor took a deep breath, and with Hop’s help, they beat the game.

“We did it, Hop!” Victor smiled wide as he put the gun back into its holster, the crowd clapped as the boys celebrated their win.

“See, I knew taking you here was gonna be fun! What else do you want to do?” Victor looked at his watch and frowned,

“Looks like it ended up being later than expected...I have to go home now,” Hop sighed and grabbed their bags, and they headed out of the arcade.

“So, Vic, how was the arcade?” Hop asked as they walked towards the train station,

“It was fun! I had a great time! To think I’ve been missing out on so much of this stuff as a kid! Thanks, Hop!” Victor smiled at the taller boy who smiled at him back.

“No problem! It’s the least I could do for you! We’re friends, after all!” 

“Friends huh?” Victor looked to the ground and sighed, “That makes you my first ever friend Hop!” _Although I want us to be more than friends... Gloria said to win Hop’s heart slowly, and being his friend is a good step in the right direction!_

“I better get going, I’ll see you later, Vic!” Hop waved him goodbye and ran off towards the station.

“See ya!” Victor waved back and started to walk back home. Happy with the progress he made with Hop.


	6. Drama awaits

“Someone looks happier today!” Gloria looked up from her notes as Victor came home,

“Yep! Hop took me to the arcade after we had some food.” Victor sat down and smiled wide, “Gloria! Hop showed me this cool gun game where we shot zombies and stuff. At first, I was scared, but then I got used to it, and we beat the final boss!” Gloria grinned as she listened to her brother, talk about his day. Victor stopped and raised an eyebrow at her, “Something wrong Gloria?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you so excited about something Vic, I kind of like this new you!” Victor began to blush and chuckled,

“You, think so? He scratched the back of his head and sat down in the chair, “I can’t believe I’ve missed out on so much!”

“Missed out on what Victor?” Mrs. Williams came from the kitchen and hugged her kids,

“Oh, Mom! I just had the best day ever with this guy named Hop! He asked me to teach him something for his soccer practice, and then he took me to the arcade to play games! I can’t wait to do more stuff with him.” 

“Victor, dear, are you sure you want to do that? I don’t want you to end up falling behind in your studies…” Gloria then looked at her and scoffed,

“Mom. Vic is the top of our class; he’s not gonna fall behind, he’s insanely smart at what he does. Let him have fun for once.”

“I know, but I just want Victor to get into a good school so he could support us.” Just then, Gloria slammed her pen on the table.

“There you go again! It’s Victor, this and Victor that! Don’t you think you’re putting a lot of pressure on him? Just cause dad left us doesn’t give you the right to force everything on him!” Gloria ran off, leaving them sitting at the table.

“Oh, dear, she’s off in her moods again,” Victor took a deep breath and looked at his mother in the eye,

“She’s right to be angry, mom...she’s cared about me far more than you ever had…” She stood back in shock at his statement,

“Victor Dominic Williams! This is unlike you!” Victor cut her off and stood up,

“Just hear me out! Mom, I’m only fifteen, I’m not an adult! I hate to say this, but you made me lose my childhood! It’s not fair that you let Gloria have fun when we grew up, and forced me to take on a huge task that I shouldn’t have in the first place!” He was breathing heavily, his eyes unwavering from his mother’s gaze, who stared at him, “I’m gonna go talk to Gloria…” He stood up and went upstairs to their room. He was still shaking from the adrenaline for talking back but felt satisfied that he said what had bottled up for so long. He knocked on the door to their room,

“Gloria, it’s me...can I come in?”He listened and heard a quiet muffle. He opened the door and locked the door behind him.

“Hey, Vic…” Gloria was absorbed into her music while burying her face into the bed, “Did mom send you to get me to apologize?” Victor let out a small laugh and sat down next to her,

“Nope! I actually talked back to her…” Gloria sat up quickly and felt his forehead,

“Victor? Talking back? What is this? Are you feeling okay? Are you sick?” Victor laughed out loud as he laid back onto her bed,

“I’m feeling great, actually! I finally was to experience something that I missed out on...making a friend and hanging out after school! I just wish mom let me have my freedom as you had.” Gloria then sat up,

“You know, Victor, I’m kind of glad that you watched over me, growing up. But it’s now my turn to do the same for you!” She grabbed his hands and held them. “I promise that you’ll get the happiness that you deserve!”

“But what about you? Don’t you deserve to be happy too?” Gloria smiled and shook her head,

“I’m plenty happy, knowing that my brother was by my side growing up, but right now, he needs to have fun!” Victor started to tear up, and he hugged his sister,

“Gloria...thanks for being there for me! If there’s anything, I could do for you. You let me know, okay?” Gloria grinned and took out his notebook,

“Well, you could help me study for tomorrow’s exams,” He laughed and flicked her forehead,

“I was gonna help you out anyway; you don’t have to ask me!” He took the notebook and read out loud some of the formula’s and waited for Gloria to recite them by heart.

The next day the twins were walking towards school when they heard the sound of hurried footsteps walking towards them,

“VIC!” The boy turned and saw Hop running at them at full speed,

“Oh, Hop!” He waved at him and smiled as he got closer,

“Wow, He got to nickname basis with you...I’m impressed,” Gloria teased her brother causing him to blush,

“Oh, hush Gloria, he’s not so bad once you get to know him!”

“He should be saying that about you…” Victor looked at her as she stuck her tongue out at him and left in a hurry.

“Gloria! And she’s gone...great,” Victor let out a huge sigh and smiled as Hop ran up to him, 

“Good morning, Victor!” His smile warmed Victor’s heart as he locked eyes with him,

“Morning, Hop! How are you today?”

“I’m doing great! I tried a little of those practices you showed me, and I think I’m getting the hang of the kicks! Here watch this!” He got out a can and threw it in the air, he grinned and kicked it straight into the trashcan that was a few feet away. “Pretty impressive, right?” Victor’s heart started to beat at a super-fast rate,

“Yeah, that’s pretty amazing, Hop!” Victor grinned as they walked towards the school,

“Hey, Vic, can I ask you something?” Victor raised his brow and nodded,

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

“Does your sister hate me or something?” Victor let out a light chuckle,

“No? What makes you think that?”

“Well, considering I hurt you, and that she’s been avoiding me even though I want to get to know her better…” Victor stopped and gripped his bag,

“Hop, can I ask you something…” Victor calmed his breathing and looked him in the eye,

“Do...Do...Do you like my sister?” Hop scratched his face and thought about it for a moment, _please, don’t say what I believe you are saying..._ Victor closed his eyes and bit his lips as Hop began to speak,

“Kind of….”


	7. Falling for you.

Victor took a deep breath and held back from crying; his heart ached, his stomach churned wildly… “I see you like my sister,”

“Yeah, but I never really got a chance to talk to her,” Hop laughed a bit, “Can you believe an ace like me too scared to ask someone out.” Hop looked up at the sky and sighed, “Looks like it’s gonna rain. No practice for any of us, huh?”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Victor gripped his bag and started to walk a bit faster, “Hop I need to get going...exams are coming up, I’ll see you later.” Victor ran to the bathroom and shut the stall behind him. He hugged his legs and silently cried to himself, ‘ _I_ _knew he liked Gloria...why did I agree to all this...I was a fool to believe he wanted me...I should just forget about him and move on..._ He wiped the tears and walked towards the sink to wash his face. As he walked out of the bathroom, Gloria walked up to him.

“Victor! What happened? Did Hop do something horrible to you again?” He began to whimper as he tried to speak. Gloria looked around and pulled him aside into an empty classroom.

“Gloria...he told me...he told me that he likes you…” He cried into her chest and hugged her tightly, “I don’t know why I even agreed to hang out with him…” Gloria hugged him and massaged his back,

“Victor...I’m so sorry. I’m here for you, okay? Is there anything I can do for you?” Victor lifted his face from her and wiped his eyes which were red and puffy from crying,

“I’ll be okay; I just need some time for myself to move on...my heart hurts Gloria, I don’t know what to do!” Victor sat on the desk and hugged himself.

“Victor, I know you can pull through, you’re strong...forget him! He’s not worth your time!” Gloria sat next to him and offered her shoulder to him. “I know you’ll find love again, Victor.”

“That’s the problem, Gloria, Hop felt something special to me...like I’ve never felt that way before in my life, he showed me how to have fun, and he wanted to be my friend! I don’t know if I will ever find someone like him…” Just then Gloria faced him and slapped him across the face,

“Do you hear yourself right now? The Victor I know never lets anything keep him down! Remember when we were in middle school, and you got disqualified during one of your archery tournaments?”

“Yeah, I cried on your shoulder…” He felt his cheek and winced as it still stung,

“Yeah, but a day later you were back on your feet, you took that as a chance for you to grow!” Gloria smiled and hugged him tightly, “I know you can get over this, but I’m always here for you if you need me,”

“Thanks, Gloria, I think I’ll be okay now!” Victor let out a soft smile at his sister. Just then the door opened, 

“Oh, there you are, Vic!” Hop smiled and stared at him, “I was worried sick about you!”

“Y...You were?” Hop nodded and stood near him,

“Yeah, you ran off again, and I felt like I’ve done something horrible to you.”

“Well, you did! And I don’t think you should be talking to us after all you’ve done!” Gloria got between Hop and Victor and grabbed Hop by his jacket, “Explain yourself right now!”

“Gloria, please don’t hurt him! I don’t want us to get in trouble!” Victor grabbed her from behind and held her back. Hop stood back in shock and composed himself,

“I’m sorry, Gloria, but I wanted to apologize for being selfish to Victor…” Victor perked up and locked eyes with him,

“You are?” Victor’s heart skipped a beat as Hop began to blush, 

“Yeah, I shouldn’t have hurt you like this... I’ve used you, and I should’ve been more upfront with my feelings…” Victor smiled a bit as he walked closer,

“Gloria...will you go out with me?” Gloria stood back in shock and looked at Victor who’s face looked broken and unwanted,

“Gloria, Hop...I need to go…” Victor ran past them, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Victor! Wait!” Gloria’s voice drowned out as Victor ran outside the door. The rain started to pour, soaking Victor’s entire body, but he didn’t care. He dodged around the students who were trying to get inside... _I should’ve known, I’m such an idiot! I knew clinging onto him was a mistake!!_ Victor felt his foot slip as he ran, and he fell down the stairs. In the air, he flipped around and saw Gloria and Hop’s faces as they ran towards him before he hit the ground….

“Victor!” Gloria put her hands to her mouth, and she ran outside. She saw her brother’s body, unmoving almost lifeless. She ran down the steps and looked at him, “Victor, please, you have to be okay!” She glared at Hop, who looked at him, “DON’T JUST STAND THERE YOU IDIOT! CALL AN AMBULANCE!!” He nodded and ran inside. Gloria turned back to her brother and brushed back his hair, “Vic, I’m sorry...please pull through? Tears streamed down her face as the rain fell on them. The sounds of sirens coming closer and closer to the school.


	8. A change of heart

Gloria sat next to Victor’s bed while he was bandaged on his head, while the beep of the nearby machine filled her ears. She held his hand and prayed that her brother would be okay. She felt the hand from one of the doctor’s who brought her outside the room,

“Is my brother gonna be okay?” Gloria was on the verge of tears but wanted to stay strong for herself and her brother.

“He will be, but I’m not sure if he would ever wake up...his body will recover but his mind, as well as his heart, went through so much stress that we don’t know when or if he will be back...we just have to wait.” The doctor walked back into the room, leaving Gloria outside the room. She peered through the glass and sighed, “Victor, I’m so sorry you had to deal with this…”

“Gloria!” The sound of her mother’s voice shook her, and she looked up, she began to tear up and ran to her,

“Mom!” She hugged her tightly and cried, 

“Is Victor gonna be okay?” Her mother looked at the door and teared up as she saw her son, unmoving and quiet, “What happened?” Gloria wiped her face and opened her mouth but stopped when she saw Hop run towards them,

“Gloria, oh, I’m so glad to see you! Is Victor gonna be okay? Why’d he run off like that-” Just then, Gloria punched him square across the face, causing him to fall back onto the ground.

“GLORIA DIANA WILLIAMS!” Her mother called out to her, but Gloria didn’t care...she was full of blind fury at the boy who made her brother suffer. Hop rubbed his face and wiped the blood from his mouth,

“Geez! What was that for??” Gloria then picked him up by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up,

“HAVE YOU REALIZED WHAT YOU’VE DONE?? DO YA?” She was so angry that she wanted to beat Hop into a pulp but bit her lip as she carried him to Victor’s room. “Do you realize how much you’ve made Victor suffer because of you?”

“I don’t understand!” Hop looked at Victor and back at Gloria, “What did I do?”

“Are you really that blind? Can’t you see that Victor’s been falling for you since the day you guys met at the convenience store? Why else would he go out of his way to help you with your soccer?!” Gloria’s voice boomed into Hop’s ears as his eyes widened.

“Victor...liked me?” Hop thought back on his interactions with Victor. He saw that every time he was near the twins, his own heart would flutter. “When I was near you, both my heart would go crazy, I thought it was because of you, Gloria, but it was actually Victor…” Hop thought back again and noticed that Victor would blush when speaking with Hop, that his face would light up when he was near him. Gloria let go of him and lifted her fist but put it down,

“He liked you...he wanted to do everything to win your heart, but you just went up and crushed his heart. And I would do the same to you, but Victor would never forgive me if he knew that I hurt someone again.” Gloria turned back to her brother and held his hand, “What are you still doing here? Get out of our site! I don’t want you near us ever again!” Hop slowly stood up and ran out of the room. Gloria sat next to her brother’s bed and wept, “Victor, I’ll be sure to visit you every day, alright?” She stood up and walked away from his room. She looked at her mother, who hugged her and cried in her arms.

* * *

The next few days felt like a heavy slog for Gloria… she felt empty walking to and from school alone...even karate practices felt annoying to her. She would occasionally see Hop on passing but didn’t pay any attention to him, her friends and teachers would ask her about Victor, but she would just give them the same answer with a fake smile,

“Oh, don’t worry, he’ll be back to normal in no time!” She hated lying to them, but it at least made her feel better, clinging onto some bit of hope that maybe today Vic would wake up. The hours became days, days became weeks, and Victor showed no signs of waking up. The doctors were afraid that Victor would never wake up from his coma and wanted to pull the plug, but Gloria stopped them. She had to; she wanted to believe that her brother would wake up smiling.

After what felt like a month since Victor’s accident, Gloria walked to the hospital. She took a deep breath and went inside his room. “Hey, Vic-” She froze as she saw Hop sleeping next to Victor’s bed, holding his hand. “HOP??” Her voice shook Hop awake, and he fell onto the ground,

“Gloria? You’re here early?”

“Wait, early? Have you been visiting Victor too?” She clenched her fist and glared at him. Hop quickly stood up and bowed,

“Please, don’t hurt me! Yes, it’s true ever since his accident. I’ve been visiting Victor at the hospital! I know you both will never forgive me, but please let me be with him! I want to tell him I was wrong to hurt him! I was wrong to have chased after the wrong person!” He looked up at her and began to cry, “I need to tell him that I liked him too!” Gloria stood back in shock and chuckled,

“Don’t give me that crap, Hop! What makes you think that I’ll believe you!”

“At first I visited him, I didn’t feel much, but the more and more I spent time with him, the more I had feelings for him! I know it’s too late, but I want to tell him at least that I was wrong for disregarding his feelings! So, please allow me this one wish!” Gloria began to open her mouth, but stopped when she heard the sound of Victor’s voice,

“G...G...Gloria?” He slowly opened his eyes. Gloria’s eyes began to well up, and she pushed Hop aside and hugged her brother,

“VICTOR! YOU’RE AWAKE!” 

“Gloria, you’re hurting me…” She let him go and wiped her tears, “Where am I? All I remember was falling down the stairs and blacking out…” The Doctors walked in and smiled as they saw Victor wake up,

“Oh, thank gods, you’re awake! You’ve been out for a month, young man...how do you feel?” Victor touched his chest and then moved his arm to his head,

“My head hurts, but at the same time...my chest aches for some reason…” He turned his head and saw Hop, his eyes widened, and he quickly looked away, “Now I remember...what is he doing here!”

“Victor, let me explain.” Hop tried to sit on his bed, but Victor snapped back,

“Explain that you ripped my heart out? I have nothing left to say for you.”

“Then let me speak, please…” Hop bowed to him. Gloria motioned at the doctors to leave the room, she closed the door and waited for Hop to speak, “I’m truly sorry for hurting you, Victor, I thought I had feelings for your sister, but it was actually you...I was too blind and dumb to realize that you had feelings for me, and as we spent time together, I started feeling the same way towards you.”

“But we didn’t spend that much time with one and another…” Hop scratched his face and blushed,

“I kind of was visiting you while you were out cold...but talking with you and being with you filled me with some new found admiration for you...and I want to make it up to you this time truly…So Victor, when you get better, would you like to go out with me?”


	9. A fresh start

Victor couldn’t believe his ears. Hop lowered his head to him, asking him out. He looked at his hands and back at Hop. There was so much going on for him, he just woke up for what felt like forever, and now the boy who broke his heart a thousand times over has confessed to him. Gloria then stood up and faced Hop,

“You think that you can just ask for forgiveness when you almost got Victor killed!? If you think he’s going to-”

“Gloria!” Victor raised his voice, causing the whole room to be silent. Gloria nodded and sat on his bed, “Hop, there’s so much I want to say to you. I’m confused and angry at you, but at the same time, I’m glad that you feel this way towards me, but...I don’t know honestly,” Victor looked him in the eyes, “I will accept your apology, but I don’t know if I can return your feelings, at least not yet... I’m still trying to recover,” Hop smiled slightly,

“Oh, Victor, I’ll make it up to you, I promise! I’ll do my best to rekindle that love!” He bowed again and walked out of the room,

“Are you sure about this, Vic?” Gloria stood up and looked at her brother who smiled softly,

“You know how easily I can forgive! Besides his eyes told me he was really regretting his actions, I know I can maybe find that love I felt for him again!” Gloria kissed the top of his head and smiled,

“Victor, you’re too good for him, but I will trust your decision, alright? Now go get some rest, I’ll be back tomorrow to get you all the work you missed, and your Switch cause I know you’ll finish it all soon.”

“Thanks, Glor!” He fell back onto his bed and looked out the window, “The weather looks nice out. Mr. Kabu is going to be so mad that I missed practice so much.” He laughed to himself and thought about what Hop said to him, ‘ _Can I really feel the same way towards him again? I guess everyone should deserve a second chance.’_

Gloria walked out of the hospital and saw Hop. He looked over at her and walked up, “Gloria, I know that we’ve had our differences, but I just wanted to apologize for everything I’ve put your brother through,” She grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it causing him to stumble,

“You’re lucky, Vic, is a very forgiving person, as for me. It’s going to take a lot more than tears and begging to get me to forgive all the crap you’ve done to him...so let me get this straight for you. You do so much as make Victor cry or break his heart again. Any reason that you make him lose that happiness of his, I’ll make sure breaking his heart will be the least of your worries… You understand me?” Hop started to sweat and nodded,

“Yeah, I understand…”

“I still think this is stupid of him to decide to give you a second chance, but I care about him too much and respect his decision,” She let go of him and walked away, “Oh, and Victor, likes sweets especially chocolate…” She walked towards the train station, leaving Hop, alone.

Hop took a deep breath and massaged his shoulder, “Hop, you really have done it now, but the universe has given me a second chance, I promise, Victor, that I will make things right again.” He looked back at the hospital and smiled softly, “I swear to it.” He walked towards the train station and passed by the convenience store. He stood there and remembered there first meeting. He saw how awkward Victor was, but thinking back, it looked kind of cute to him. Someone who seems so calm and collected could actually be so nervous and adorable. Hop felt his face heat up, and he slowly touched it. “This is the same feeling that I felt before...but when was it?” He shook his head and went inside the store.

* * *

The next day Gloria was packing her stuff and looked through the notebook that had all the things Victor had missed while he was gone. “Hey, Gloria!” A black-haired punk-looking girl tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards the doorway, “I think some guy is looking for you.” Gloria let out a massive sigh as Hop was standing there awkwardly with a bag. She stood up and flashed a glare at her classmates who were giggling and whispering stuff near her.

“What do you want?” Even though Hop was much taller than her, he still coward at her presence. He swallowed the large lump in his throat and opened the bag,

“Do... Do...Do you think Victor would like these?” Gloria peered inside and marveled at the number of various chocolates that were in there.

“How much did you get?” She raised her eyebrows at him, and he laughed,

“I didn’t know what to pick, so I got him everything...are you visiting him today?” Gloria stared at Hop and laughed to herself

_To think Hop can get this embarrassed, Victor, Victor you really know how to pick em, “I’m_ about to go right now,”

“Can I tag along too?” 

“Really now? You expect me to think that I would let you come with me? You must be crazy.” 

“Please, let me make it up to him!” Hop bowed quickly at her, “I made some awful mistakes, and I regret doing that to Vic- I mean Victor...but give me another chance!” Gloria pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed,

“I’m sorry, Hop but I don’t think-”

“Gloria!” The sound of her Coach boomed across the halls,

“Coach Bea! What is it?”

“Some rival school has challenged us to a match, and I need my star player to help us out right now!” Bea grabbed her arm and pulled her along,

“Wait, I need to give Victor his homework! I need to visit my brother!” Bea looked up at her pleaded to her,

“You must! We can’t have our school’s honor to be threatened!” Hop then stepped forward,

“I’ll go for you Gloria,” Gloria looked at him and scoffed,

“Uh, no offense, Hop, but I don’t think you could keep up with the karate team.” Hop laughed and shook his head,

“No, no, I mean, I’ll go visit Victor for you. I already planned on it so you can just give me his homework.” Gloria’s eyes widened, and she glared at Hop.

“Oh no, don’t think that you could easily-” Bea then took her hands,

“Oh, this is perfect! Thank you so much, young Hop! Let’s go, Gloria!” She started to drag Gloria along,

“Wait!” She gave Hop the notebook and frowned at him, “Give this to him first... I’ll be there later, so don’t do anything you’ll regret!” Hop smiled and held the notebook close to his chest.

“I’ll be sure to tell him that you said hi!” He waved at her as he walked away. Just then he saw his coach walk up to him,

“Hop! It’s good to see you!”

“Coach, Raihan!” Hop waved at the tall, dark male who towered above all the students.

“Where are you heading to?” Hop lifted the plastic bag and blushed,

“Well, I’m visiting someone in the hospital,”

“Oh, that Victor kid that you’ve been visiting almost every day?” Hop gave a sheepish nod, “Well, I can’t stop you for wanting to visit a friend, but you should really be going to practice, the big game is coming up in a few weeks.”

“I know, I’ve been doing some at-home practices! But I really need to do this for Victor...I’ve done something really terrible to him, and I wanted to make it up to him!” Raihan smiled and ruffled Hop’s hair,

“I getcha, but you have to consider the team as well, but I trust that you can get back to us before the game.” Hop flashed a huge smile and nodded,

“Of course! Well, I’ll see you later!” Hop ran out of the school and headed towards the hospital, hugging the notebook close to his chest.


	10. The hospital visit

Hop walked towards the counter and greeted the front desk, “Hi, I wanted to see, a Victor Williams, i..is he here today?” _Of course, he is you, idiot! Why wouldn’t he be?_ Hop thought to himself. He gripped the notebook and tapped his fingers around it. The woman smiled and pointed towards the hallway,

“Yes, Mr. Williams is in room 2, you can’t miss it.” Hop nodded and walked. His footsteps echoed through the hall; he could feel his own heart beating from his ears, 

_Why are you so nervous, Hop? It’s just a visit, a regular visit for one guy, who you may have a small crush on, it’s no big deal._ Hop stood in front of the door and hovered over the doorknob, his mouth became dry, and his palms were sweaty. “Hop? Is that you?” He jumped as he saw Victor looking through the window, staring at him.

“Hi, there, Vic-Victor!” Hop waved at him and smiled, “H...How’s it going?” Victor sat back into his bed and twidled his thumbs,

“I’m alright, other than this sharp pain on the side of my head; I’m doing well.”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry about that…” Hop sat on a nearby chair and looked around the room, trying desperately to avoid eye contact.” After a brief moment of silence, Victor spoke,

“So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, well, I’m here to give you the homework that you missed while you were gone.” Hop handed him the book and blushed as Victor’s soft hands touched his own.

“You didn’t steal this from Gloria, did you?” He raised his brow, causing Hop to throw his arms back.

“No, no! It’s not that! Something came up, and she had a karate challenge to do for the school’s honor, and I offered to take her place.” Victor stared at him, and Hop began to sweat.

“That does sound like Gloria,” Victor laughed to himself as he flipped through the notebook, pen in hand, “She used to do that a lot when we started school, you know.”

“Oh, really?” Hop sat on the bed and watched as Victor wrote some stuff down.

“Yeah, she would usually come home late, so I’d wait for her sometimes at the club room.” 

“It must’ve been lonely waiting for her.” Victor stopped and chuckled a bit, 

“Yeah, it was...but I didn’t mind since I knew she’d come to see me!” Hop nodded and looked over at Victor’s notebook and saw a bunch of complex problems and formulas. Hop understood them, but as he solved the first one, Victor already turned the page.

“Wow, Victor, you’re going through that very fast.” Victor looked up and smiled at Hop.

“Really? I’m usually faster, but thanks to my injury, I have to do a bit more thinking.” Hop stepped back in shock as Victor closed his book,

“Wow, Victor, you’re amazing!”

“I don’t know about that.” Victor let out a small giggle as he set the notebook on the counter,

“Oh, are you taking a break?” Victor smiled and shook his head,

“Oh, no, I’m done! Mind giving that to Gloria for me tomorrow?” Hop’s heart thumped as Victor amazed him even more. 

“S...S...Sure, uh, I have some sweets for you.” Hop opened the bag and rummaged through them. He looked up and saw that Victor was close to him.

“Oh! Chocolate! My favorite!” Victor’s eyes began to light up as Hop took some out.

_Hehe, he’s kind of cute like that...oh wait..._ Hop began to turn bright red as he handed Victor a box, “Here, you can have as much as you want.”

“Thanks, Hop!” Victor opened the box and smiled as he savored the chocolate. Hop smiled as Victor ate. His smile then dropped, and he stood up, “Hop is something wrong?”

“Kind of,” Hop turned to face Victor, who licked his fingers, “It’s just...I am an idiot. An idiot who’s in love…” Victor stopped eating and looked at Hop.

“Hop...I mean you kind of are haha,” Victor let out a small laugh and rubbed his head, “Hop you’re so easy to read. I know you’re trying to win my infatuation again, but it’s probably going to take more than a few chocolates to do that.” Hop looked to the ground and turned away,

“I see, I’ll guess I’ll be going now.” Hop frowned and began to walk out the door,

“But…” Hop froze and looked back at Victor, who blushed slightly, “But I guess seeing you again wouldn’t be too bad. I still have a few more days left, and you still need your goal lessons.” Hop smiled a bit and sat back down next to Victor.

“Is it okay for me to visit again tomorrow?” Hop looked at Victor, who nodded,

“Yeah, it’s fine by me...I can call Gloria and tell her not to beat you up.” Victor let out a small laugh but then stopped as he rubbed the bridge of his nose,

“Victor! Are you okay?” Hop got a little closer to him a bit,

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little headache that’s all and a bit hot.” Victor unbuttoned his gown a bit. Hop started to turn red, seeing a little bit of Victor’s exposed chest and took a deep breath. He shook his head and began to massage the back of Victor’s head.

“Is that any better?” Victor closed his eyes and smiled,

“Yeah, that feels nice. Where’d you learn that from anyways?” 

“I learned it from some of my teammates in soccer, pretty neat, huh?”

Both boys laughed then stopped when they realized what happened,

“S...Sorry, Victor!” Hop stood back up and hid his face from Victor who blushed again at him,

“That’s okay; it did make me feel better.” The silence broke when they heard hurried footsteps, followed by Gloria opening the door.

“Victor! I’m here! And I brought...your switch…” Gloria looked at her brother and then back at Hop and pointed at Hop.

“Why are you two blushing and that my brother has most of his shirt opened up?” Gloria took a step forward,

“Gloria, wait!” Victor tried to get out of bed, but his legs wouldn’t move, and he fell to the ground.

“Victor!” Both Gloria and Hop shouted as they both took each arm and led him onto the bed,

“Thanks...but Gloria, it’s not like that. Hop was just massaging me when I had a headache!” Gloria then started to laugh,

”Oh, thank goodness, I thought Hop tried to make a move on you…” Victor blushed a bit and sat back onto his bed,

“He was keeping me company...how was your match?” Gloria flexed her arms and smiled,

“Knocked the floor with them! They didn’t know what hit them!” Victor grinned and hugged his sister. Hop watched as Gloria told Victor about her matches and looked over at Victor who’s eyes lit up as his sister was punching the air.

“I guess it’s time for my leave then, thanks for letting me come visit Victor.” Hop stood up and grabbed his bag and started to head out the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hop!” Victor grinned as Hop left.

“Yeah! Tomorrow!” Hop smiled wide and ran around the corner and clutched his chest. He took a deep breath and giggled, “He said tomorrow! I think he likes me back!” Hop composed himself and excitedly headed home.


	11. Forgiveness

Victor’s eyes fluttered open, and he sat up from the hospital bed, after a few days of physical therapy, he was able to stand again at least. But the doctors said that he needed to be on crutches for about a week so that he can get his legs working again. He didn’t mind much since his arms were plenty strong enough on their own. “Today’s the day I get back to the normal routine!” He smiled and threw his legs over the bed and grabbed his crutches to stand himself up. He walked to the bathroom and changed.

As he walked out of the bathroom, the doctors greeted him, “Morning, Victor! How are you feeling today!” Victor smiled wide and held out his crutches,

“I’m doing well! I’m ready to get back to my normal life. Well, as normal as I can be.” He let out a small laugh as they walked towards the front desk.

“Victor!” Gloria waved at him and ran up to hug him, “How are you feeling?”

“Good, sorry that you and Hop couldn’t visit me during my physical therapy...but I’m back in fit form, well mostly.” He let out a small giggle as he walked a bit more.

“Victor!” His mother hugged him and kissed his cheek,

“Hey, Mom, it’s good to see you again!” She smiled and hugged him and Gloria tightly,

“I’m so sorry for what happened to you...it must’ve been so lonely in the hospital!”

“Not really! I had Gloria and Hop visit me, so I wasn’t that lonely!’

“That’s good! Gloria has done well and taken care of the house while you were gone, but her cooking could use a little work.” Gloria scoffed and crossed her arms,

“It’s not my fault Victor didn’t write any of his tips on your cookbook!” The three of them laughed as the doctors walked towards them.

“Okay, Victor, please refrain from any heavy physical activity, so that means you might want to hold off on the archery for a while, just until you can stand up.” Victor frowned and sighed,

“Aww, man, I was so ready to get back into it too...but I guess it can’t be helped,”

“Let us know if your head starts hurting again!” The Doctors waved them off, and the three of them walked towards the train station.

“Looks like it’s time for school. I’ll see you back at the house okay, Vic?” Gloria fixed her bag and started to walk,

“Wait, Glori, can I walk to school with you? I want to see Mr. Kabu and Hop again…” He started to blush as he spoke his friend’s name. Gloria shook her head and laughed,

“Alright, I’ll take you around so you can see him. But only cause you asked! I still am on the fence with Hop, but for you, I’m willing to put that aside.” She then got close and whispered to him, “If he tries to make any sudden moves on your body, you let me know, and I will be sure to break his fingers!”

“Gloria! Please don’t be rash! He’s not going to do anything to me, _not yet at least I don’t think,_

“What was that last part?”

“Nothing! Let’s go!” With that, the twins waved goodbye to there mom and walked to school.

* * *

“Man, Vic, it’s finally good to have you walking with me to school again!” Gloria smiled wide as he looked at her brother, who was limping with his crutches. She looked to the ground and stopped walking.

“Gloria?” Victor looked over at his sister and raised his brow at her, “Is something the matter?”

“I’m sorry for putting you through all this...if I hadn’t pushed you to chase after Hop, you wouldn’t have your accident, and you wouldn’t have to be on crutches and miss out on archery.”

“Gloria, it’s not your fault. I should’ve been more careful and Hop, really regretted hurting me, so we should just learn from the past and move on! I know somewhere Hop likes me back, and I think I’m starting to feel the same thing from him again!” Gloria hugged him from the side,

“You have a good heart! I never would be able to forgive someone that easily, but I want you to be happy, and if this is how you want it to be, then I will support you! Just like you’ve supported me.” She fixed her bag and waved him goodbye, 

“I’ll be at the archery practice club room, okay? Unless I’m not, then you can text me!” Victor shouted as she gave him a thumbs-up. Victor continued to walk towards the school and waved at the other students and teachers who welcomed him back. He faced the school and smiled at it, “Hello again, Galar! I’m back!” He walked around a bit and slowly climbed the stairs. As he walked up, he saw a group of guys step towards him.

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t that first year, who’s the top of the archery club!” Victor looked at their uniforms and recognized that they were from a rival school.

“You guys are part of Hoenn academy, Mr. Kabu’s old school…” He looked at them as they slowly surrounded them. 

“That’s right! And word on the street is that their star archer was out of commission for a month, but it turns out he came back! We can’t have that now!” One of them knocked Victor’s crutches out of his hands, causing him to fall onto the ground.

“Aww, what’s the matter, can’t stand on your own?” Victor grimaced as he tried to get himself to stand,

_Crap...if only my legs would work again…._ Just then, the leader picked him up and dangled him over the stairs, “You wouldn’t dare! There are faculty around, you know!” The one holding his shirt laughed,

“Do you hear that twerp?” Victor heard the sound of the bells, signaling that class has started. Victor’s face dropped as he dangled over the same set of stairs; he fell on a month ago.

“We just need you to take another nap so we can make Kabu regret leaving our academy!” He threw Victor down the stairs. Victor closed his eyes and braced for impact.

_Gloria! Please, I need you!_ Just then, he felt a pair of hands catch him on the bottom of the stairs. He slowly opened them and saw Hop, who was in his soccer jersey. “Hop? What are you doing here?” Hop smiled and looked down on him,

“I saw you walking up the stairs and wanted to greet you, but it looks like someone else beat me to it.” Hop held Victor close to him, causing him to blush as he felt Hop’s beating heart.

_His scent feels so comforting..._ Victor smiled to himself as Hop set him down on the ground.

“Are you okay, Victor?” Hop got down on one knee and ruffled Victor’s hair,

“Yeah, I’m fine…thanks for saving me, Hop.”

“Anything for the guy I love!” Upon hearing Hop’s declaration, Victor’s heart skipped a beat.

_Love? Did he just say that to me? After all, I’ve said to him?_ Hop slowly stood up and faced the other students.

“How dare you trespass on our school and attack a student!”

“Why you little!” One of them ran up to Hop and tried to punch him, but Hop ducked and kicked him back. He saw another come from behind and quickly tackled him. Victor watched in awe as Hop easily held these guys again. Just then, the leader came from behind Hop with a bat.

“Hop! Watch out!” Hop tried to dodge out of the way but got hit back. “Hop!” Victor called out to him and saw the leader walk towards Victor.

“Nothing personal, but I need you to take a little nap.” Just as the bat fell, Victor saw a blur of pink, fly past him. The bat landed, but it was Gloria who caught it.

“Gloria!” Victor smiled as his sister came to rescue them.

“Someone saw you guys from the nearby window, the police are on their way, but I just could stand there!” Victor looked up and realized Gloria jumped from the third-story window to get to him.

“Gloria, you’re one crazy sister…” Victor laughed a bit,

“Well, anything to protect my brother.” She smiled as she saw Hop get up, “I’ll have to thank you, Hop...you saved Victor...guess he was right to give you a second chance.” Hop brushed the dirt off of him and smiled,

“Thanks, Gloria! Need any help?” Gloria laughed and shook her head,

“Not really, but you might want to help them get into the hospital bed!” She broke the bat in two and kneed the leader in the stomach. She picked him up by the chin and shook her head, “You picked the wrong person to anger, you know.”

“Gloria!” Victor shouted at her as she turned around, “Don’t kill them.” She chuckled and nodded. She punched the leader in the gut and knocked him out. His lackeys woke up and saw Gloria smiling down at them.

“Now, which of you guys want to be my personal punching bag.” Just as the lackeys ran off, the police came by and arrested them. Hop looked as the leader was wheeled off and sighed,

“I’m so glad that wasn’t me.” He walked over to Victor and picked him up again, “Are you okay?” Victor nodded and blushed a bit.

“Yeah, I’m fine now, thanks to you two!” Gloria handed him his crutches, and he slowly stood up with them. “Gloria…” He started to tear up and cry. She hugged him as the tears fell from his face, “I thought I was gonna…”

“Shhh, it’s okay, Vic, you’re safe now...thanks to Hop.” She looked up at Hop and nodded at him. Hop sank to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Looks like the hard part is finally over…”


	12. New Feelings

Gloria and Hop stood next to each other, facing the principal of the school. The middle-aged man fixed his hair and looked back between each of the students in front of him. “I think you both know why you’re here then?” he eyed Gloria especially,

“Because you want to congratulate us on our good work?” Gloria laughed a bit but immediately stopped when the principal slammed the pen down.

“Gloria, we’ve been through this time and time again! You jumped from a three-story building!”

“To be fair, I jumped to the nearby tree and climbed down,”

“Still, you could’ve endangered yourself! You beat up students from another school!” 

“She had no choice, Principal Rose!” Hop interjected, “Victor was about to get hurt again!”

“Mr. Hop, I understand the situation, but that doesn’t give her the right to put herself in danger. And another thing...Hop, you put yourself in danger as well.” he stared at him, and he looked to the ground,

“I couldn’t just stand there and watch Victor fall down the stairs again; ‘ _I don’t ever want to see how scared he looked again.”_ Gloria looked up at Hop and raised her brow. Rose took a deep breath and stood up,

“I understand, but if something were to happen to you as well. We would have two incidents on our hands.” Gloria then glared at her,

“So, what you wanted us to sit back and watch someone get hurt? Victor was in danger, and we had to step up!” 

“You’re already on thin ice, young lady! One more incident like this and I could throw you out of this-” The door suddenly opened, and Victor slowly walked in,

“Care to finish that sentence, Principal?”

“Victor!” Gloria and Hop smiled as he walked passed them,

“Ah, Mr. Victor...it’s good to see you well.” Victor slammed the table and stared at him,

“No, thanks to you... it’s thanks to Hop and my sister that I’m well again,” He scowled at Rose who started to sweat,

“What are you doing here, Victor? I thought you were heading home?”

“I can’t go home without Gloria, and I couldn’t help but hear that you planned on throwing her out...she saved my life and don’t make me remind you of your recent spendings for this school.” Hop stood back in fear as he felt a terrifying presence coming from Victor. Rose began to stammer and sweat as he put down his pen.

“But of course, my mistake Mr. Williams, there’s no need for any of us to cause any trouble. Hop, Gloria, please excuse my outburst, you are free to go.” Victor smiled and motioned for them to leave the office. As the door closed, Rose slammed the table.

“Curse, that kid...I just have to try a little harder next time…” He stared out the window at the students who tried to pick a fight, were being wheeled away towards the police station. “I just have to get them separated from each other, and I can silence that brat once and for all.”

“Victor, what was that back there?” Hop pointed up at Rose’s office and stared back at Victor,

“Oh, well, one day I was helping Rose with some computer problems, I stumbled upon some of his spending invoices, while he was there. He panicked and begged that as long as I don’t spread the word around. He’d let Gloria’s incidents slide. But I feel like I should say something to the police about it... it’s odd though,” He looked up at the office and furrowed his eyebrows, “Those punks showed up at a very convenient time.”

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, Victor, but you should be careful around Rose. I’m sorry I couldn’t come in time, Vic.” Gloria hugged her brother and lightly punched Hop’s arm, “Still, look at you, Hop! Who would’ve thought that you come in and save Victor like a knight in shining armor, saving his prince!” She laughed out loud as both boys blushed heavily.

“Hop,” Victor stopped walking and tugged on Hop’s jersey,

“Y...Yeah, Victor?”

“Thanks, for saving me...and uh, you can call me Vic...I mean, if that’s okay with you!” Victor started to fidget as he held his crutches. Hop stared at Victor and looked over at Gloria, who grinned wide at him.

“No, problem Vic, I’m glad to be there for you…” The trio started to walk towards the main entrance, silently between amongst themselves. Gloria then cleared her throat and started to run forward,

“I have to get back to class; Hop do you mind watching Vic, for me!” She waved at them as stormed off,

“Gloria! I can take care of myself!” Victor huffed and sighed, “I’m sorry, Hop, but it looks like you’re stuck with me…”

“I don’t mind; it just means that we can start over and junk.” Hop held out his hand and blushed slightly, “I’ll take you to your archery club if you want to.” Victor slowly lifted his hand and hesitated. He swallowed and placed his hands onto Hop. It felt warm and comforting, but at the same time, protective. 

“Your hand feels nice Hop...but can I watch you play soccer?” Hop looked down at Victor who smiled at him,

“Are you sure?” Victor nodded,

“Yeah, I want to see you in action, hehe, I won’t be able to do much at archery anyways, since my legs aren’t that great at the moment.” Victor squeezed Hop’s hand, and they started to walk towards the fields.

“Sure thing, just be careful, okay? I don’t want any more balls to hit your face…”

“I mean, if that happens again, you’ll just carry me to the nurses again.” Victor let out a light giggle as Hop blushed even more.

_‘Has he always been this cute? Why is my heart beating so much? Am I sick? Is this what true love feels like?’ Hop’s_ mind began buzzing around as they walked,

“Hop? Are you okay? Your hands are sweating.”

“Yeah, It’s just the heat that’s all!”

“But it’s not that hot out?” Hop cleared his throat as they walked along the grass,

“Well, we are here! You can sit by the bleachers so that you won’t get hit again. You going to be alright?” Hop helped him sit down on the bench,

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I could use the fresh air! Have fun at practice, okay?” Hop nodded at him, and he headed back onto the field. Victor laid back and sighed,

“I thought my heart would jump out of its chest back there...is this what they call love? My heart feels all fuzzy; I guess I can ask Gloria about it…” He looked over at Hop and watched as he kicked the ball around. Hop’s face looked really focused as he dodged and weaved with the ball.

“Over here, Hop!” One of his teammates called out to him, and Hop easily passed it to him. They got close to the goal but backed up when the defense appeared near him.

“I’m open!” Hop raised his arms up, and the ball soared towards his direction. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the goal line, adjusted his foot, and kicked the ball straight into the goal. Victor silently cheered and clapped as Hop got crowded around his team. Hop wiped the sweat from his forehead and slowly lifted his shirt.

_‘Is Hop….’_ Victor covered his face and slowly peaked through his fingers as he saw Hop’s toned body. Hop then looked back at Victor and tilted his head. _Oh no, he saw me looking...what do I do?_ Victor saw Hop run up to him,

“Hey, you okay? You look all red in the face.” Hop sat down next to Victor who turned his head away,

“Yeah, I’m fine...I just saw something I didn’t know I liked,”

“Oh, what was it?” Victor twiddled his thumbs and chuckled,

“The fields?” Hop scowled and crossed his arms,

“Victor...you’re terrible at lying…come on, you can tell me!” Victor touched Hop’s hands and stared in his eyes, 

“It’s you…”


	13. One's True Feelings

“Me?” Hop threw his hands back and blushed as Victor stared into his eyes, “Is that a confession?” he laughed a bit and held Victor’s hands. They were smaller than his, and he felt the light fingers awkwardly clasp his own. Victor shook his head and looked away,

“Forget it, Hop, I shouldn’t have said anything...I better get going,” Victor released his hands from Hop and slowly stood up and walked away with his crutches.

“Do you need any help, Vic?” 

“No, I’m fine. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Oh, alright,” Hop watched as Victor walked away. He looked down at his hand and traced his palms to where Victor touched his hand. Hop walked over to his bag and got his phone out. He took a deep breath and began texting.

_‘Hey, Gloria.’_

_‘What’s up?’_

_‘I think Vic, confessed to me,’_

_‘What? No way! Did you say yes?’_

_‘About that, he kind of did then ran off.’_

_‘I’ll be right there…’_ Hop sat on the bleachers and waited a few minutes until Gloria walked up while wearing her karate uniform,

“Where’s Victor?” Gloria sat next to him and drank a bit of her water,

“He ran off after confessing to me, but I thought he liked me?” 

“He did, but you know what happened a month ago, he was so confused and didn’t know what to do,” Hop then let out a huge sigh and leaned forward.

“Right, I hurt him and broke his heart...and now he feels lost…I should’ve chased after him.” Gloria got out her phone and showed it to Hop,

“He’s over by the archery club room; you should go talk to him. And, uh,” Gloria pinched her nose and laughed, “You might want to shower first. I can’t let you confess to my brother looking like a mess!” Hop lifted his arms and laughed,

“Yeah, I guess I’ll go do that…” 

“How’s your arm, by the way?” Gloria tapped his shoulder, where he got hit with the bat. He moved it around and gave her a thumbs up.

“I’m alright! It’s a little sore, but I’ve had worse!”

“Well, you better hurry and chase after Victor! I have to go back to practice now, so I’ll catch you two outside the gates. With that, she ran back towards the school.

Hop showered and cleaned himself up and headed towards the archery club room. It was a bit further than the practice field, but Hop managed to get there in no time. Hop went inside the room and looked around. It was empty, and the lights were off, “I guess club practice is over?” He pondered. Just as he walked away, he heard the sounds of someone moving around the targe range.

“Come on! I can’t lose my touch now!”

_‘That sounds like Victor’s voice’_ he thought, Hop slowly crept inside the club room and walked towards the target range. He saw Victor, dressed in his uniform, trying to draw his yumi while keeping himself steady with his crutches. Victor propped himself up with them as he struggled to maintain his posture. He tried to shoot an arrow but missed the target entirely, sighing, and looked to the ground.

“I need to get back into this...I have to for my club...I have to…” Hop clutched his chest and looked to the ground as the immense feeling of guilt filled his body. He tried to get a better view but tripped and fell onto the ground.

“Who’s there?” Victor quickly turned around but started to fall.

“Victor!” Hop got up and ran to catch him. “I gotcha!” He held him up and smiled as the brown-haired boy looked up at him,

“Hop? How’d you know I was here?” Victor sat up and immediately looked away from Hop, “Why’d you follow me anyways…”

“Gloria told me,”

“Curse that, Gloria… I’ll get her for this…” Victor punched the ground and sighed, 

“Victor, I want to talk with you, would you please listen?” Hop sat next to Victor and looked towards the target range, “Do, you hate me?”

“What? I don’t hate you! Why would I?”

“Don’t lie to me, Victor!” Hop raised his voice that shocked Victor to his core. He shut his eyes and whimpered a small nod,

“I don’t know Hop; part of me still hates you for breaking my heart. But I want to like you, but when I see you my heart flutters but also aches! I’m just so confused! Like I thought, if I told you that I liked you that it would clear my mind, but it just made the feeling worse!” Tears started to form in Victor’s eyes; his voice became raspier and raspier.

“Victor…” Hop hugged his head close to him and massaged his back, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you...I tried to mend things too quickly, and it ended up making things worse for you. I just want to tell you this. I like you too, and I’m an idiot for not realizing it before; I was dead set on thinking it was Gloria that I liked, but it turns out it was you that I was truly in love with.” He felt Victor hold his hand and caressed it with his thumb.

“Do you really mean that, Hop?”

“Yeah, I really do...the day Gloria made me realize that you’ve liked me...it got me thinking how much of a fool I was. I was chasing the wrong person, and I ended up hurting him. I’d hate me too, but the moment you woke up and gave me a second chance, I was so happy that I didn’t consider what you felt. I hope someday you can forgive me.”

“Well, that day can be today, Hop.” Victor sat up and faced him, “I guess it wasn’t fair for me to run away like that...and I just wanted to say that I...I...I like you too.” Hop cupped Victor’s face and slowly brought his lips to him. Victor’s eyes shot open but slowly closed them as their beings meshed together. The feeling of love cleared away any negative feelings they had towards each other. Time halted to a stop as they brought each other closer and closer, desperately trying to outlast the other. After a few moments for what felt like forever, they parted to catch their breath.

“Wow, that was amazing, Vic,” Hop laughed a bit as Victor blushed and touched his lips,

“So that’s what a kiss felt like…” Victor giggled slightly and rested his head on Hop’s lap,

“Was that your first kiss Victor?” Victor let out a small nod, “Me too,”

“Does that make us boyfriends, Hop?” Vic looked up at Hop who smiled and brushed his hair back,

“Yeah, it does.” Both boys laughed to themselves and watched the birds fly by. Gloria peered from the club room and smiled at them,

  
 _“Nice going, you two!”_ she thought, “ _Seems like this is gonna be the start of something special for you, Vic. I’m proud of you.”_


	14. A new routine

Victor fluttered his eyes open and looked out the window; he saw the familiar trees of his home. He slowly got up and felt a sharp pain on the side of his head. He slowly felt the bump that had shrunken since the last time he was at the hospital. “Oh that’s right, I’m back home, and it’s almost time for school…” He smiled at the clock and threw his legs off the bed. He sighed and reached for his crutches and slowly propped himself up. He trotted over to Gloria’s room, who was across from his and opened the door. “Hey, Gloria, it’s time for school.” He opened the door and saw his sister already dressed and brushing her hair.

“Oh, good morning Vic!” She smiled as she tied her hair up in her ponytail,

“You’re already ready?” She walked up to him and ruffled his bedhead,

“When you were in the hospital, I had to wake myself up for school; I knew if I slept in, you’d be upset with me. Now it became a habit of mine!” 

“I’m impressed, Gloria,” He shifted a bit and began to turn around, “Do you mind helping me get dressed?” She let out a small chuckle,

“I haven’t helped you get dressed since we were five!”

“I just need you to make sure I don’t fall over…” She smiled and walked up to him,

“How are your legs, by the way?” He looked down at the sticks he called legs and tapped them,

“They are alright, they are getting better at getting me around...maybe a few more days of these and I’ll be back in no time!”

“Are you okay with missing out archery?” Victor’s smile dropped, and he looked away,

“Honestly, no...I miss being out there, it made me feel happy, but now I feel like I’m holding my club back, the tournament is in a few weeks, and I’ve lost all my stuff in a month...I don’t know if I can be back to normal.” He felt a flick to his forehead,

“Do you hear yourself right now? The Victor I know doesn’t beat himself up over something that wasn’t out of his control! And they know that you’ll get back on your feet soon! Literally!” She gave him a tight squeeze and smiled, “Besides, you’re not alone!” He let out a small smile,

“Right, right, I have you. I’ve heard that a million times already.” Gloria chuckled and winked at him,

“Not just me, Vic.” Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” Their mother called from the kitchen and opened the door, “Oh, and who you might be?” Victor looked at Gloria and raised his brow at her,

“Victor! There’s a boy who’s looking for you!” Gloria then smiled wide and shouted,

“Mom, you can send him to his room! He’ll be right there!” Victor started to blush and shook his sister frantically,

“Gloria! You can’t send him to my room! I’m not decent yet!” He started to walk to his room, and he immediately bumped into Hop.

“Oh, hey, Vic!” Hop was dressed in his uniform and looked down on his new boyfriend. 

“HOP! What are you doing here?” Victor blushed as he was a total mess; hair barely brushed, body reeking of morning smell. Clothes still messy and unkempt. 

“I thought I’d walk with my boyfriend to school today.” Hearing Hop call him, his boyfriend caused the blood to rush to Victor’s ears. The boy let out a small giggle as he adjusted his crutches.

“Mind waiting a bit, while I get ready?” Hop let out a nodded and watched as Victor left to his room.

“So, Hop...I heard you and Vic had a little make-out sesh in the archery club room!” Gloria punched his side and smirked at him.

“What? Who told you that!” Hop covered his mouth and began to blush slightly,

“Don’t think I don’t know! I saw how happy Vic was that day...and I spied on you both.” She pocked his side and laughed a bit more,

“Come, on Hop; you can tell me you enjoyed smacking on my brother’s face, didn’t ya.”

“Gloria! Please! Don’t tease me like that! I’ll have you know Victor was a great kisser! And I can’t wait to give him more kisses cause he deserves it!” He locked eyes with her, and she smirked and looked off to the side,

“You really think so, Hop?” Hop jumped as he heard Victor’s voice coming from behind him. 

“Victor! Uh, I uh,” Hop started to stammer, and he waved his arms around frantically. He shut his eyes and nodded, “Yeah, I think you’re adorable; that’s all!” 

“Thanks, Hop, I think you’re really cute too.” Victor let out a small giggle. Gloria and Hop clutched their chest and turned away from him.

“Gloria, how is your brother so cute?” He whispered,

“I don’t know! This is the first time I’ve seen him like this...but I know one thing’s for sure.” They both looked at each other and nodded,

“We have to protect that smile!” They shook hands and smiled at each other in unison. “Victor, you ready to go to school?”

“Yeah, but I’m having a hard time carrying my bag-”

“I’ll do it!” Hop ran over to him and offered his arms, “I’ll carry your bag for you, Vic!”

“Oh, thanks! Hop!” He dropped the bag onto Hop, who grunted slightly on the sudden weight of it.

“Geez, what’s in here?” He slowly slung it to his back and winced as the weight hurt his shoulder slightly,

“I missed out a lot this past month, so they had me bring everything...I can carry it if you want me too!” Victor reached for Hop, but Hop shook his head,

“No! It’s okay. I got it!” Gloria chuckled to herself as the three of them headed out the door.

“So, Vic, you gonna be alright getting back into the groove of things?” Gloria looked over at her brother who smiled at her,

“Yeah, it should be fine, but getting around classes will be a lot more difficult, but I think I can manage. I might have to miss practice, though…” He looked at the ground and sighed. Gloria then looked up at Hop and motioned him to do something.

“Oh, hey Victor, uh some I don’t have practice today...do you want to go get some food and maybe the arcade again? Or the mall or something?” Hop locked eyes with him and held his breath,

“Like a date?” 

“Yeah, a date!”

“I’d like that…” Victor’s face lit up as they walked closer to the school gates.

“Great, I’ll pick you up after your last class!” He handed Victor his bag and began to walk away,

“Hop, wait!” Victor grabbed onto his jacket and tugged on it,

“Hmm? What is it?” Hop looked down at Victor who blushed slightly,

“Could you give me a kiss goodbye, I mean if that’s not too much trouble for you…” Hop smiled and bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

“Of course, Vic, what kind of boyfriend would I be. Will I see you later? Take care, Gloria!” Hop ran off towards the gates leaving the twins behind.

“That Hop sure is quite the charmer...but it’s nice that he’s looking out for ya, Vic!” Gloria slapped the back of her brother’s jacket, causing him to stumble a bit.

“You can join us, too, if you want Gloria!” She shook her head and ruffled his hair,

“I have my own things I need to do...besides I don’t want to ruin your intimate time together with your boyfriend!”

“Gloria!” Victor turned bright red as she walked off.

“I’ll see you during break time, okay! Have fun with Hop! And don’t stay out too late!”

“Gloria! Oh my gosh!” Victor smiled as he held his bag close to him, the scent of Hop’s body giving him comfort.


	15. Young Love

Victor walked to his class, slowly taking steps as the clack of his crutches echoed throughout the halls. He felt the stares of his classmates, pierce his back as he walked. Don’t _worry, Vic, they just haven’t seen you in a month; it’s not like you’re a weirdo now that you’re on crutches._ He shook his head and headed to his first-class with Mr. Kabu. He took a deep breath and slid the door open. All eyes were on him as he walked in. He slightly waved at his classmates who got up and ran towards him,

“Victor! You’re okay!” A few of the female classmates hugged him while the male classmates ruffled his hair.

“How’s your head?” Victo laughed a bit but also winced as one of them touched his head,

“I’m okay, just give me some space…” He looked up and saw Mr. Kabu walk up to him and nodded at him,

“We all missed you, Victor. Welcome back!” Victor let out a smile and laughed,

“Yeah, I’m back!” He sat down in his chair and felt around the wood. He brightly smiled as he felt a sense of familiarity around him. He looked out the window and noticed the tree had sprouted into cherry blossoms. ' _It feels different but somehow nostalgic.'_ He jumped as he felt a rumble in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and saw a mysterious number text him.

_‘Hey, Vic!’_

_‘Who’s this?’_

_‘That’s harsh! It’s me, babe!’_ Victor blushed as he texted back,

_‘Hop?’_

_‘Ding, ding! You are correct! Your prize is a kiss from me later!’_

_‘Why are you texting me? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?’_

_‘Yeah, but aren’t you as well? Besides, I wanted to make sure you were okay!’_

_‘I’m fine... I’ll come to your class after school, okay?’_

_‘Yeah! Love you!’_ Victor put his phone away and listened to Kabu’s lessons. He smiled as he thought about the fact that someone other than Gloria texted him. He put his pencil down and looked out the window, ‘ _I think I’m in the mood for burgers today._ He thought,

* * *

As the bell rang for classes to end, Hop slumped over his desk and sighed, “What’s the matter, Hop?” A blond-haired boy hovered over him and poked his face,

“Oh, nothing Barry, I’m just thinking about someone.” Hop giggled a bit to himself as he thought about Victor blushing,

“Oh? Who’s the lucky girl?” Barry smiled wide and sat next to Hop,

“Uh, no, it’s not a girl.” Hop fidgeted a bit as Barry’s face changed,

“Ohhhh, it’s a woman, then?” Hop slumped his head further into the desk. Just then, a girl walked behind Barry and smacked him across the head, “Oww! Dawn, what’s the big idea!” The girl with long black hair and silver eyes glared at him as she sat behind him,

“Barry! Leave, Hop alone! I’m sorry, Hop, he’s a little dense sometimes.” 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure he will get it someday.” Hop laughed as he waited for Victor to text back.

“I was just asking if there were a woman Hop’s into...what if it’s a teacher!” Hop let out a loud groan and looked out the phone.

“Hey, Hop…” Hop’s ears perked up as he heard Victor’s voice calling to him. He lifted his head and smiled wide as he saw the smaller male peak out of the hallway. He got up and walked over to him.

“Hey, I thought you were gonna text me?” Victor blushed and fidgeted his fingers,

“I wanted to surprise you; I hope you’re not mad.” Hop clutched his chest and turned his face away,

“It’s, fine... I’m glad you were here, at least.” Hop picked up his bag and held his hand out, “What kind of food do you want to eat?” Victor took Hop’s hand while trying to balance himself with his crutches,

“Are burgers okay?” 

“Yeah, that sounds perfect!” Hop squeezed Victor’s hand, and they walked outside the school. “I guess Gloria didn’t want to join us?” 

“She didn’t want to third wheel. But she has friends that she hangs out with anyways.” Hop then raised an eyebrow and grinned,

“I guess she didn’t want to see this…” He planted a quick kiss on Victor’s cheek. The smaller boy’s face turned a bright red as he slowly touched where Hop kissed him.

“Hop! Don’t do that stuff! We are at school!” Hop laughed a bit as Victor looked away from him,

“Oh, man, that face is so cute! I can’t believe I’ve missed out! Let’s go get some food!” Hop took Victor’s hand and led him towards the stairs. Victor stopped and stared at the stairs and clutched his arm.

“Vic? You okay?” Hop squeezed his boyfriend’s hand and kissed his head, 

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little scared.” Hop pulled him closer to his body and lifted his chin.

“It’s okay, Victor, I’m here for you. We can always take the ramp; I won’t pressure you to go through the stairs again.” Hop led Victor towards the school ramp and walked alongside him.

“Hop?” 

“Yes?” Victor reached up and pulled Hop’s chin down and kissed his cheek,

“Thanks.” Victor let out a small smile and hugged Hop as he blushed back at him. “Now let’s go eat, I’m hungry!” Victor hugged Hop’s arm as they walked towards the train station for their first proper date.


	16. The first date

“So, I should think about the angle from where I kick then?” Hop watched as Victor drew a triangle between ‘Hop,’ the ball, and the goal.

“That’s right! You’ve gotten better at this Hop!” Victor let out a smile as Hop grinned and at some of his fries. They decided to go to the cafe where they first hung out for their date. “But we have to make up for lost ground since I’ve been gone.”

“Yeah, I still feel awful about it...can you ever forgive me?” Hop felt Victor’s hand reach up to his tie, and he got pulled in close to his face.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t!” Victor grinned as he felt Hop’s breath grow sporadic,

“R...right, so what are you gonna do now?” Hop puckered his lips, slightly awaiting a kiss from Victor.

“I’m going to...eat some more!” Victor let go of Hop and happily ate his food, leaving Hop starved, but not for food…Hop pouted and placed his chin on the table.

“You’re so mean!”

“I have to get back at you somehow. Even if it is making you suffer like this,” Victor’s snide remark caught Hop off guard as he was so used to the Victor, he thought he knew. He laughed to himself as it made their relationship more interesting. Hop then lifted his head up and looked at Victor, who was too busy chowing down.

“Hey, Vic.”

“Yeah?”

“You have something on your face!” Victor put his burger down and began to wipe his face. Hop took his hand and smiled, “Here, let me get it for you.” Hop got his face close to Victor and licked his lip.

“Hop?” Vic’s voice jumped an octave as Hop got closer and closer to him. He started to blush and tried to move, but part of him wanted what was coming to him. Hop got really close to and lifted his hand. Victor raised his hand and tried to push him away, “Hop, you can’t! We are in public!” Victor shut his eyes and felt a napkin clean his mouth.

“There you go! Now I can see your cute face!” Hop grinned as Victor was bright red like his sweater. 

“Thanks, Hop...but I could’ve gotten it myself, you know…” 

“Yeah, but I just really love that face of yours!” Hop laughed out loud but then fell back slightly when Victor flicked him across his head. “Ow!” He rubbed his forehead and glared at Victor, who drank his soda. “Anyways, you want to head to the mall after this?”

“What do you plan on buying?” Hop chuckled and held Victor’s hands,

“It’s not about buying. It’s more about who I’m spending time with.” Hop kissed Victor’s hands and stood up, “You ready to head out?” Victor gave one last sip of his drink and waited for Hop to give him his crutches. Hop held out his arm and let Victor pick himself up from his chair.

“Thanks,” Victor balanced himself and slung his bag over his shoulder and held onto Hop as they headed outside.

Victor’s eyes wandered as they walked around the mall in Galar. “Wow, a lot has changed since the last time I’ve been here!” Hop looked down at Victor and laughed,

“Oh? When was the last time you were here?” Victor stopped and pondered for a bit,

“I think when Gloria and I were kids, we’d go with our parents...before the divorce happened.” Victor gripped Hop’s arm and froze.

“Victor...it’s okay; you don’t have to talk about it…” 

“No, it’s okay...you deserve to know.” Victor took a deep breath, “We were a happy family, but something in my father changed, and he became more and more distant to us...then one day he just left without a word.”

“Victor...I’m so sorry.” Hop hugged his boyfriend tightly,

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault! Gloria and I managed! After all, I had big shoes to fill, right?” Hop shook his head and touched Victor’s cheek,

“Still, it wasn’t right for him to leave you guys behind, and forcing you to take all his responsibilities. That’s just not right!” Hop looked to the ground and grunted,

“Hop, is this what happened to you too.” Hop looked Victor in the eyes and nodded,

“Gloria was right; you are intellegent...but yeah, it happened to my brother and me too. Our mother was basically fending for herself at that point, and my brother practically raised me!” Victor lead Hop to the bench and slowly sat down,

“From the sounds of it, your brother sounds like a great man.” Hop looked to the ceiling and smiled,

“Yeah, he was my idol, and I loved him! He even got me into soccer just like him! But when I joined, all everyone would talk about was how great he was and that they expected big things from me.”

“That’s why you asked me to help you with your kicks...so that you can take the team farther than he ever could.” Victor held Hop’s hand and leaned on his shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s right...I was so dead set on trying to surpass my brother. I clung to whatever chance to improve...but I was an idiot and hurt the guy I liked.” Hop looked down at Victor with resentful eyes, “I’m sorry for everything, Vic.” Victor reached up and pushed back Hop’s hair,

“It’s okay, we all learn from our mistakes,”

“But, I almost got you killed, only cause my heart was stupid and thought that It was your sister that I liked!” Victor let out a small laugh and kissed Hop’s hand.

“What made you think that, anyway?” Hop blushed and looked away,

“Well, whenever I see you both together, I felt my heart was ready to burst...you know how it is...people always tell me that I’m very popular with the ladies, but it didn’t feel right to me...so when I saw you both and felt those feelings I thought I found the one! Turns out, I was looking for the wrong one.”

“Well, it’s better late than never, right?” Hop looked back down at Victor and smiled,

“Yeah, of course!” Hop leaned down and kissed Victor on the cheek, “Thank you for giving me a second chance.” Victor let out a smile,

“I almost didn’t…”

“Golly, aren’t you two, cute!” Hop and Victor jumped as they heard Gloria appear from behind them.  
  


“Gloria!” Victor almost fell off the bench as she smiled wide at them. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just here hanging out with friends, and I spotted you two and decided to do some meddling! I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Hop shook his head and scratched the back of his head,

“No, not really-”

“Yes! You are Glori!” Victor interrupted, “Hop and I were having a nice moment together!” Hop blushed as Victor slowly got up and pulled him along. “Come on, Hop, let’s go somewhere else!” Hop looked back at Gloria who shrugged at him,

“You didn’t have to be that harsh to her.” Hop turned back at Victor who let out a sigh,

“She knows I mean well... she’s always like this, but she’s just watching out for me.” Victor smiled and looked back at Gloria, who went back to her friends. _I know what you do for me, sis...thanks for being there for me._

“Victor?” Hop voices snapped Victor back into reality,

“Oh, sorry. I’m just happy, that’s all!” Victor hugged Hop’s arm and looked up at him, “mind taking me home? My legs are getting a bit tired” Hop let out a small nod,

“Sure thing!”

* * *

That evening Hop walked Victor to his home and stood outside the door. “Well, here we are! Did you have fun?” 

“Yeah, I did!” Victor giggled and held Hop’s hands. “Thanks for being patient with me. I promise when my legs feel better, I’ll be able to do more stuff with you!”

“That’s a promise!” Hop locked eyes with Victor and swallowed, their heartbeats synced as one as they got closer and closer.

“THUD!” 

“What was that?” Hop looked around for that sudden noise and held Victor close to him. Victor looked towards the door and scowled,

“Gloria….are you watching us?!”

“No….” They heard a meek voice coming from the door,

“I told you they’d spot us, Gloria!” Victor then blushed as a second voice was heard behind the door.

“Mom? You too?” The door opened slightly as Gloria, and his mother grinned at them,

“Oh, Victor! Welcome home!” His mother smiled and looked over at Hop, “Thank you for watching over my son! Did you boys have fun?” Hop bowed,

“Thank you for letting me take care of your son. I had a great time and wish to take him to dinner on the weekend.” Victor blushed and kept looking back and forth at his mother and Hop.

“Of course! As long as you two, don’t stay up too late! But it’s okay, Gloria, and I can always be out of the house if you two want the place to yourself!” 

“Okay! I think it’s time for everyone to go back inside!” Victor pushed his mother back inside and turned back to Hop. “I’m so sorry about them, Hop…” Hop let out a laugh and pulled Victor close to him.

“It’s okay; it’s cute to see you flustered.” He kissed him on the lips and waved them goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you!”

“Hop!” Victor tried to grab Hop, but he was already far away. He dropped his hand and smiled to himself, ‘ _I_ _love you too…’_

“Mom! Vic’s acting all giddy again!” Victor glared at Gloria who stuck her tongue out at him,

“You’ve forced my hand, Gloria...good luck on tomorrow’s history test!” Gloria froze and began to sweat.

“Wait, I didn’t know about a test! Victor, wait!” She tried to reach out towards him as he walked inside, but he turned his face away. “Victor please don’t leave me! I won’t do it again! I’ll even throw in some of my candy!”


	17. Back to normal

The alarm sounded signaling a new day for Victor. He slowly sat up and stretched, “Morning already?” He let out a small yawn and got out of bed. He walked towards the kitchen where his sister and mother were at the table.

“Oh, good morning...Victor?” Gloria dropped her fork onto her plate of waffles and stared at her brother in shock. 

“Morning,” He rubbed his eye and looked at his sister with a confused expression, “What’s wrong? Is my hair messed up again?”

“Vic, dear, your legs.” His mother walked up and pointed,

“My?” He looked down and realized that he was able to walk around like normal, “I can walk!” He started to smiled as he ran a bit around the house. “Gloria, look, I can walk again!”

“That’s amazing, Vic!” Gloria stood up and hugged him, “Guess now you can go back to your normal routine!” He nodded and grinned,

“Yeah, I can’t wait to show Hop! I’m gonna go get ready for school!” He ran towards his room but then came back and walked back to Gloria. “Here, Gloria!” He handed her a notebook and went back to his room,

“Huh? Is this?” She looked at the cover and gasped as it had notes on today’s history test. She smiled and looked back at Victor’s room.

“He’s changed ever since he met Hop, hasn’t he?” Her mother sat back down and drank a bit of her coffee.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see him finally smile again,” Gloria held the notebook and traced her hand over the cover,

“You’ve changed a lot too, Gloria.” She looked up at her mother and raised her brow at her,

“What do you mean?” Her mother never really spoken to Gloria or even Victor about this kind of stuff. Most of the time, it was just between her and her brother.

“Well, you feel a bit freer now that you don’t have to watch over Victor. I can’t really explain it, but you feel happier that he has someone other than yourself to make him happy. Like a large shackle has broken off of you.” Her mother smiled at her and continued to drink her coffee.

“I guess, you’re right,” Gloria looked back at her brother’s room and thought back that almost every given day, she felt like she needed to watch over him. That she felt the need to take care of her brother, _‘I guess I also grew up too fast as well,’_ She thought,

“Sorry, I took so long! My hair was really unruly today!” Victor slipped on his jacket and smiled wide at his family.

“Let’s go, Vic! Hop might be here any second!” Gloria took her brother’s arm and pulled him along.

“It’s fine! Hop texted me saying that he’d wait for us by the school gates!”

“Well, you shouldn’t keep your boyfriend waiting then! Bye, Mom! We will see you tonight!” Gloria waved to her mother as they left the house.

“Be safe!” She waved at them and looked out the window, “Victor, Gloria, I’m glad you guys have each other….” She smiled and went back to her coffee.

“I can’t tell you how great it feels to have my legs working again!” Victor was practically skipping on their way to class.

“Man I’ve never seen you this energetic before! It’s kind of weird, but I like this new Victor!” Gloria took out the notebook and started to read through it.

“Are you gonna be able to cram in time?” Victor slowed down and looked over his sister’s shoulder. She closed it and handed it back to him.

“Yep! I got everything memorized, thanks to you! I always did like your notetaking! You make it so easy for people to remember things.” Victor let out a small blush as he put the notebook back into his bag,

“Thanks, but don’t sell yourself short! You are really smart too! I’ve seen your test scores; they are pretty high up there!” Gloria then laughed and grabbed her brother’s head and ruffled his hair,

“Not as good as yours, Mr.’ Top score!’ You ever figure out what you wanted to do when you grow up?” Victor fixed his hair and looked up at the sky; the sun shined brightly on his face.

“I’m not sure what I want to do...mom and Mr. Kabu say I can do whatever I wanted since I’m so smart maybe become prime minister or maybe join the Olympics for my archery!, but I still don’t know what I want to do. What about you, Gloria?”

“I want to be a world-renowned karate champion! I want to inspire other girls to be able to defend and stand up for themselves!” Gloria kicked the air causing Victor to clap in awe.

“That’s amazing, Glori! You are pretty inspirational! So I hope you can make your dream a reality!” Gloria slapped Victor’s back causing him to stumble,

“You’re so corny, Vic! But thanks, and I hope that you find you’re calling too.” She hugged Victor, and he embraced her back. Gloria opened her eyes and saw Hop walking towards them, “Hey, Vic, your boyfriend is here.” Victor turned around and ran up to Hop.

“Hop, guess what!” Hop smiled wide as he saw Victor running towards him,

“You can walk again!” Hop opened his arms, and Victor jumped towards him and got swung around by Hop. “I’m so relieved!” Victor buried his face into Hop’s chest and hugged him tightly.

“Yeah, so I can hang out with you more...if that’s okay.” He let out a small blush as he looked up at Hop.

“Of, course, I’ll anywhere with you, Victor.” Hop smiled and kissed him on the cheek causing him to giggle slightly,

“How about you two save that mushy stuff for after class,” Gloria smirked as they got near the gates.

“GLORIA!!!” Victor hid his face into Hop’s chest, “why do you have to embarrass me!” 

“You make it easy, you’re so _vulnerable_ you make easy prey!” Gloria winked at Hop and walked away. Hop swallowed and blushed as he massaged the back of Victor’s head.

“It’s okay, Victor. So, do you have plans after school?” 

“Yeah, it’s club practice today, and I need to get as much training I can so I can join my team for the tournament in a week!”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine!” Hop bent down and kissed Victor on the lips, “I’ll text you later, okay?” Victor nodded and touched Hop’s chin,

“Yeah, I’ll see you later, okay?” He walked away and waved back at Hop, who went the other direction. Victor smiled happily as he headed to his first class.

“Oh, Victor!” He turned around, and Mr. Kabu walked towards him,

“Morning! Isn’t it great, Mr. Kabu! I can walk again! Now I can go back into practice and join you guys for the tournament!” Mr. Kabu placed his hand on Victor’s shoulder and sighed,

“About that,” Victor’s eyes widened, and his face dropped as the air around them felt heavy. “I’m sorry, Victor, but you’re not gonna be able to join the club for the tournament.”


	18. A startling revelation

“Wait, what are you saying?” Victor’s heart was pounding; his legs were close to buckling. Kabu nodded his head,

“I’m sorry, but it was a hard decision...you were gone for a month, and the tournament is in a week. That’s not enough time for anyone to get back into form...I’m so sorry, Victor.” Victor bit his lip and looked down; archery was his comfort; he wanted to help his team and show people his worth. But fate had other plans for him. Victor took a deep breath and looked up at his teacher.

“I understand...you don’t want me on because I’d just hold you back. I did leave you guys for about a month, and this is super important…” Victor looked away and hid his face from Mr. Kabu, “I’ll see you during class.”

“Victor,” Mr. Kabu tried to reach out to him but couldn’t. 

Victor sat emotionless in his desk while taking the test. He caught a glimpse of Kabu staring at him, but he just went back to his work. His heart felt heavy; Victor just wanted to go home and curl up and wither away. He put his pencil down and looked out the window. The clouds rolled in, signifying the upcoming rain of spring.

The bell sounded for the lunch break. Victor let out a small sigh of relief. He stood up and handed Kabu the test and bowed. Kabu stared at him and smiled,

“I’ll see you in the club room, alright?” Victor looked away in anger,

“I don’t see any point of me coming in there...I need some air; I’ll see you later, Mr. Kabu.” He walked out the door and closed it behind him. He pulled out his phone and saw multiple messages from Hop. He bit his lip and looked at the messages, not knowing what to do.

“Victor!” He looked up, and Hop waved at him and ran up to him,

“Oh, hey Hop...how was your test?” Victor let out a sigh and smiled up at Hop.

“It was good, but what happened to you? Did something happen?” Hop held Victor’s hands and held them up,

“I’m fine; really, it’s no big deal!” Hop shook his head and looked around,

“Follow me right now.” He took Victor’s hand and led him into an empty classroom.

“Hop, I’m fine!” Victor laughed as Hop grabbed his shoulders.

“You’re clearly not! Tell me what’s wrong! Let me help you!” Hop raised his voice slightly, causing Victor to step back in shock. Victor looked to the ground and began to whimper,

“I...I’m not joining my archery club to the tournament…”

“What?” Hop let go of Victor’s shoulder, 

“Hop…” He broke down and cried, “I wanted to do this for my team, and I let them down!” He wept and rubbed his eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop. Hop hugged Victor and massaged his back,

“Victor, I’m so sorry...this is all my fault…” Hop hugged him tightly and teared up.

“Hop, it’s not your fault…but it hurts Hop.” Victor cried in Hop’s arms for what felt like an hour. Suddenly the door opened, and Gloria walked in,

“Hop! Have you seen Victor? Mr. Kabu told me that he couldn’t join the team!” Hop looked over, and Victor appeared from the side,

“Gloria…” He let out a loud whimper as she ran up to him,

“I’m here, Victor, just let it all out!” She hugged him and held his head. She looked up at Hop with a worried expression. “Victor, it’s okay. We are here for you.” Victor’s cries echoed in the small empty classroom. His eyes turned red and puffy. Hop stood there, not knowing what to do. He clenched his fist and walked out the door.

“Hop? What are you doing?” Gloria looked up while hugging Victor.

“I’m gonna go talk to Mr. Kabu. I want to persuade him to let Victor back.” Gloria nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

“Good luck, I’ll watch over him.” Hop nodded back and rushed through the halls.

“No running in the halls!” A teacher shouted at Hop, but he dodged them and found Mr. Kabu’s office. Hop opened the door and breathed heavily and stared at Kabu, who was by himself at his desk.

“Mr. Hop, what are you doing here?” He put his papers down as Hop walked up and slammed his hands on the desk.

“You have to let Victor back onto the team! He’s been working hard, and you shouldn’t just drop him like that!” Hop raised his voice and glared at Kabu.

“Hop, I’ve already set up who is going to shoot...Victor was in a coma, and we didn’t know when he’d wake up. Please understand,”

“I don’t! It’s not fair! I was the one who caused him to get into the coma! It should be me that I should be punished!” Hop punched the wall causing a nearby painting to fall.

“Hop, I’m sorry you’re mad, but It was under the suggestion of Mr. Rose that I let Victor rest a bit more.” Hop looked up and stared at him,

“Mr. Rose? Said that?” Kabu nodded and went to pick up the painting. “I’m heading over there then. I’m sorry about the wall.” Hop ran out the door and up the stairs to Rose’s office. _Of all people..._ Hop’s thoughts buzzed around. Rose was the last person he wanted to talk to, But he had to for Victor. He stood in front of the office door and took a deep breath. He then opened the door and found a woman sitting at the front desk.

“Students are not allowed without an appointment.” She had long hair and red lipstick and had a scary look on her face.

“I don’t’ have time; I must speak to Mr. Rose!” Hop walked, passed her, and threw the door open.

“Oh, Mr. Hop, it’s good to see you! How are you today!” Hop slammed his hands on the desk and glared at him.

“Cut the crap! You and I both know that you made Mr. Kabu take Victor out of the team!” Rose smiled and looked at him,

“I have no idea what you’re talking about...Victor needs his rest, and I don’t want him to hold back the team.”

“You shouldn’t do this to him! He doesn’t deserve it!” The doors opened, and a few teachers walked in and tried to grab Hop. “Let me go! You can’t do this, Rose!” 

“I’d focus on yourself rather than others, Hop...the big game is coming up...I hear our rival is strong this year…” He smiled as Hop was dragged away. As the door closed, he sighed, “That brat better learn his place...soon, young Victor will be broken. It’s just a matter of time.”


	19. A Well Kept Secret

; “Let me go! How can you just stand there and let the principal do this?” Hop struggled and pushed back the two teachers who were dragging him back,

“I’m sorry, Hop,” One of them was a woman with dark skin and dark blue hair with streaks of neon blue. She sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder, “We don’t want you to do more harm than good.”

“Ms. Nessa is right,” The other teacher was a man of light skin, a bit more burly than Ms. Nessa, he had green eyes and peach hair. He looked at Hop with a somber expression, “We don’t want you to cause any more of ruckus. It might hurt Victor more.” Hop stepped back slowly,

“You guys know! You guys know about how Mr. Rose is trying to do something to Victor!” He pointed at them, and they looked away from him,

“We have no choice...he has a mighty influence, not from this school, but the entire district.” Nessa looked out the window and stared off towards the fields. “We suggest you try not to draw attention to yourself. It’s better that way.”

“Better! Better? There’s nothing better about the fact that a principal is endangering the lives of a student! But, I understand...I won’t draw any more attention.” Milo smiled and nodded his head,

“That’s good to hear, well we will be seeing you, Hop. Have a good day.” Hop watched as the two teachers walked off,

“You damn well I’ll be having a good day.” He took out his phone and began texting.

_‘Gloria…’_

_‘Glori here!’_

_‘How’s Vic doing? Where are you guys?’_

_‘He’s okay now. He’s currently sleeping next to me at the gym.’_

_‘I’ll be right there.’_ Hop put his phone into his pocket and headed towards the location of Gloria. _I don’t know what Rose is planning, but I know he plans on hurting Victor...I can’t let him do that._ Hop clenched his fist and dashed towards the gym.

“Hop! Over here!” Gloria waved at the taller male as he opened the doors. She was dressed in her karate uniform while sitting down. Victor laid in her lap, sleeping soundly. 

“Hey, Glori-” Hop froze and watched as Victor was sleeping peacefully. His face started to heat up, seeing Victor in a calm state. “Is Victor okay? _Oh wow, he’s so cute when he’s asleep._

“Yeah, he gets exhausted when he gets emotional. But he is doing okay now...poor guy.” She brushed back his hair and smiled as he stirred a bit in his slumber. “So, how did it go?” She looked up at Hop, but he looked to the ground.

“This is a lot bigger than we thought it was…” Gloria motioned Hop to sit next to her. She looked around them and then faced him,

“Tell me everything.” Hop sighed and nodded,

“Well, you know how Victor knows something about Mr. Rose?” Gloria let out a small nod, “Well, apparently Rose forced Kabu to get Victor off of the team, claiming it to be ‘for his own safety’”

“That’s dirty!” Gloria moved slightly, causing Victor to fall. She caught him and placed his head back on her lap, _Sorry Vic!_ She whispered as she turned her attention back at Hop. 

“Right, but something feels really suspicious about his motive. Just earlier, Ms. Nessa and Mr. Milo were acting strangely...like they know what Victor knows. But Rose is making them keep quiet about it.”

“And he’s trying to target Victor too! We have to tell the police about this!” Gloria took out her phone, but Hop stopped her,

“We don’t know what is going on...and Rose is on a different level of your average criminal...he has a tight influence.” Gloria punched the seat next to them, causing Hop to fly up a bit.

“Sorry! I’m just angry that Rose is trying to hurt Victor. We just have to keep a close eye on Victor and Rose…” Hop nodded and looked back at Victor.

“Yeah, we almost lost him, and I don’t want to lose him again. Just be careful.” Gloria nodded and lightly punched Hop in the arm.

“You too, I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt too.” Hop raised his eyebrow and laughed,

“Wow, to think that one moment you were gonna beat me to a bloody pulp, and the next, you are worried about me.” Gloria blushed and pouted,

“Don’t be stupid! I just don’t want to take away the one thing that made Victor happy away!”

“Admit it you do care about me too!” Hop laughed and then stopped when he saw coach Bea walk towards them.

“Gloria, the principal wants to talk to you.” 

“What? Me? What for?” Gloria looked back at Hop then back at her coach,

“Beats me, he said that he personally wanted to talk to you about something. Best not to keep him waiting.” Gloria looked down at Victor and then back up at Hop.

“You should go. I’ll watch over Victor.” Hop stood up and picked up Victor and held him like a bride. Gloria let out a small laugh as Hop held Victor close to him,

“Is he even heavy?” Hop smiled and shook his head,

“He’s actually pretty light... it’s kind of cute…” Hop looked down at Victor, who nuzzled his face into Hop’s chest. _Oh, no, he’s so cute!_ Hop cleared his throat and faced Gloria, “I’m gonna take him somewhere quieter, you be careful with Rose, alright?”

“Yeah, I will. Listen if I don’t make it back…”

“Don’t worry; I’ll watch over your brother.” Hop interrupted,

“What? No! Call an ambulance, cause I might kick Rose’s ass!” She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the gym. She looked back over at Victor and smiled, ‘Don’t _worry, Victor. Hop, and I will protect you!’_

Gloria walked towards the office and opened the door. The woman looked up and pointed at the nearby chair, “sit over there. The principal will be with you in a moment.” Gloria rolled her eyes and sat in the chair.

_Always quite the welcome, Ms. Oleana, still_ Gloria tapped her arms and bounced her leg. ‘ _I can’t help but feel really anxious right now.’_ She took a few deep breaths to calm her heart, but it still would not stop beating out of her chest.

“Send her in, Ms. Oleana.” Mr. Rose’s voice pierced through the door in a sincere but demanding tone. Gloria stood up and walked into Rose’s office. In it, he was standing by the window looking out of it towards the fields.

“Lovely weather, I expect for us to have a good spring.” He smiled as he walked around, back facing towards Gloria.

“Why have you called me here? I haven’t done anything wrong!” Rose turned towards her and smiled,

“Oh, on the contrary, it’s what you **have** done. You see, you’ve been here far too many times for me to count...and well, that’s a big issue.” Rose walked around her and grinned,

“Yeah, but” Gloria clutched her chest and took a deep breath, “That was for a good reason! Victor was in danger all those times!”

“See, that’s where it all falls to Victor, if it weren’t for him, you and I wouldn’t have these sorts of conversations.” Gloria bit her lip and stared at Rose. “If it weren’t for your brother, you’d be enjoying your karate without having to worry about being expelled.”

“That’s not true!” Gloria raised her voice, “I only took karate because of him! I’m his sister, It’s my duty to watch out for him! Cause he did the same for me!”

“So you only did things because of Victor? So without him, what are you even?” Rose raised an eyebrow at her, and she clenched her fist.

“I’m not gonna stand here and let you try to turn me against my brother!” She grabbed his tie and lifted her fist at him. He smiled and laughed,

“Go ahead, do it! If you do, what would Victor think about it? His sister, kicked out of school because she couldn’t keep her temper down? What would that do to his reputation?” Gloria gritted her teeth and let go of Rose. “That’s more like it...you now understand the situation you’re in...one more incident, and you’re done...and by mean you, I mean both of you!” He fixed his tie and motioned her to leave, “Oh, and exams are coming up soon, it’s best to study up. I hear they are tough this year!” He smiled as she closed the door behind her.

  
Gloria walked out and punched the wall in anger. “That pompous asshole!” She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. “I have to tell Hop...but Victor…” She brought out her phone and smiled at the photo of her and her brother smiling. _I hope you know that I love you and don’t think any ill thoughts towards you. I promise Hop, and I will bring him to justice._


	20. Figuring things out

_‘Why do I feel warm all a sudden?’_ Victor thought to himself, ‘ _wait, I know this feeling...’_ He opened his eyes and saw Hop holding him. “Hop?!” He jumped and pushed Hop away from him while blushing.

“Hehe, morning, handsome!” Hop smiled as he set Victor down.

“First, what are you doing here? Second, where are we? Third, where’s Gloria?” He adjusted his vest and looked away. Hop put his hands behind his head and laughed,

“Well, in no particular order, Gloria went and had to speak to Mr. Rose, so I went and took care of you! And you’re outside near the soccer fields. And it’s after school, in case you’re wondering!” Victor looked around and sighed,

“You didn’t have to carry me like that, you know.” Hop walked up and hugged him. He rested his chin on Victor’s hair and smiled,

“I wanted to let you sleep, love! You look cute sleeping like that!” Victor held Hop’s hands and slowly felt his fingers before clasping them together.

“Thanks, Hop.” Victor looked out towards the field and watched the wind across the grass. “Is Gloria going to be okay? She’s talking to Rose, I’m a bit worried!”

“She will be fine, Vic…” Hop looked towards the field, gripping Victor’s hand. _She won’t do anything rash, not when it’s about Victor._

“HOP! VICTOR!” Gloria came running up to them from the nearby building.

“Gloria!” Victor smiled and waved but soon dropped his hand and took Hop’s hand, “Hop, follow me.” He nodded towards Gloria, and they ran behind the bleachers.

“What happened, Gloria?” Hop watched as she breathed heavily and looked behind her, 

“It’s...about...Rose…” She looked up and held Victor’s hands, “You have to be careful, he’s really bad news.”

“I already know that, Glori! But what did he say to you?” Victor looked at his sister, but she looked away,

“This is my last chance…” Victor tightened his grip on Gloria,

“What? What do you mean?” Gloria looked back at her brother,

“I mean, that if I get in trouble again, I’m done... I’ll be kicked out of school.” Victor took a few steps back and shook his head,

“No, no, this can’t be happening. How can Rose do that? He should know that I could get him arrested!” Victor looked down at his hands and clenched them together, “I’m gonna go talk to him!”

“Victor, wait!” Hop grabbed him from behind and held him back,

“Hop! Let go of me! I have to make sure my sister doesn’t get kicked out!” Victor tried to fight back, but then Gloria held him,

“Victor, please be rational about this! If you go there right now, it’d make things worse! I’m still in school!” Gloria hugged him and dried the tears that formed from his eyes,

“But I have to do something! Maybe if I talk to him, he would reconsider.” Gloria shook her head,

“It’s gonna take a lot more than just talking to get him to budge.” Hop crossed his arms and nodded,

“Yeah, I found out that he is far more influential than just a principal...but we still don’t know what he does? And if we can get enough evidence to claim that he is doing something!” Gloria looked back at her brother,

“Victor, what is he trying to hide.” Victor looked around and checked to see if anyone was nearby,

“Okay, so when I was asked to go to the principal’s office one day. Ms. Oleana told me to go right in. But there were some other gentlemen in suits that were just leaving, and Rose started to panic while I was there, and then his laptop fell. I offered to help pick it up. He took from me immediately, but I got what I needed to know...he’s been running a secret underground drug ring.” Gloria and Hop’s eyes widened as Victor told them Rose’s secret,

“No, way!?” They both shouted. 

“Shhhh!!” Victor covered both of their mouths and nodded, “Yes, he is dealing with drugs…and using the school funds to send them to other parts of the world for profit.” He stared at the ground and sighed, “I’m sorry for hiding it from you, Gloria, but he promised me that he’d let you off Scott free if I didn’t say anything...looks like he’s had enough.” 

“Then, that’s why those punks from the so-called ‘rival school’ tried to attack Victor that day!” Hop shouted, “Rose, probably hired them to try to silence Victor!”

“Of course! Victor’s the only one that isn’t under Rose’s tight control! But, we can’t take this to the police based on conjecture!” Gloria looked back towards the office and sighed,

“We, need the evidence, right?” Victor looked up at Hop and Gloria and nodded, “Then I propose we go in there and take it!”

“WHAT?!” Hop and Gloria shouted, causing Victor to cover their mouths again.

“Guys! Please! Listen...Rose still has his laptop stashed away...I can hack it and copy its contents into this USB drive, and then we can take it to the police!” Victor took out his trusty drive and twirled it around.  
  


“Right, but he’s in his office all day. There’s no way he’d leave.” Victor smiled at Gloria,

“I already thought of that. Exams are coming up, and it’s apparently going to be a lot tougher this year. So he has to do a meeting with the teachers for it. We just gotta figure out the date, and we are set.” Hop stared at Victor as he talked,

“Hop, focus! You can stare at your boyfriend all you want later.” Gloria elbowed him in the gut, and he blushed,

“Sorry, sorry, but what about Ms. Oleana? Isn’t she going to be around?” Victor smirked,

“Well that’s the thing; we need someone to bait her into leaving...can you do that for me, Hop?” Hop smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Leave it to me!”

“What am I gonna do, Victor?” Gloria looked at her brother, who held her hand.

“It’s a huge risk, but I need you to watch my back during the process. But I’m trusting you!” She smiled and hugged him,

“Of course, let’s go take that son of a bitch down!” The three of them high-fived and smiled,

“This is exciting!” Hop giggled and hugged Gloria and Victor, “It’s like we are in one of those spy movies!” Victor laughed and fixed his hair,

“Hop, be serious. This is real life! We should be extra careful, one wrong move and it’s all over! I’m counting on you guys to do this, okay?” Gloria and Hop nodded, “Great, now there’s one more thing I need you both to do.”

“What is it, Victor?”

“Yeah, tell us!” Hop and Gloria listened in as Victor spoke,

“We should study for the exams coming up!” Hop let out a loud groan,

“Come on, Hop!” Gloria smiled and slapped his back, “Vic is a great teacher! He will help you out!”

“I guess you’re right...he did help me with my soccer stuff!” Hop smiled and held Victor’s hand and kissed him on the cheek, “You’re so smart, love!”

“Hehe, thanks, Hop! I try!” Victor let out a giggle. Gloria then smirked and laughed,

“Who knows, maybe if Hop gets one right, Vic can reward him with a kiss!” Victor glared at Gloria, who stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s true! Look at poor Hop he’s as red as your sweater Victor!” Victor looked up, and Hop was flustered.

“Gloria, leave him be, besides I can give him kisses whenever I want! He doesn’t need them for motivation!”

“Actually, Victor...that doesn’t sound too bad…” Hop laughed as Victor, too, turned bright red.

  
“Oh, okay...well, then I’ll see you guys tonight?” Hop, Gloria, and Victor nodded as they walked back towards the school. Victor looked at the office and stared at Rose, who smiled back at him through the window. _Just you wait...you’re going down!_


	21. Operation Rose

Victor and Gloria walked towards the school gates the following day. Victor yawned and rubbed his eyes as he walked,

“Did you get enough sleep?” Gloria laughed as she remembered that on days where there were crucial tests, Victor would always stay up a little bit to get more studying in. Even with a low amount of sleep, he would consistently score well on exams.

“Yeah, I got a few hours in, the studying didn’t take long, it was trying to figure out when the important teacher meeting is gonna happen.” Victor brought his hand to his chin and pouted as he quietly spoke.

“Guys!” Hop called out to them and ran towards them, he slowed to a stop and stared at Victor who didn’t even bat an eye at him, “Is he alright?”

“Who, Vic?” Gloria took a glance at her brother, who was in deep thought, “Oh, yeah, don’t worry about him! He goes into his own little world whenever he is in deep thought.” Hop walked next to him and waved his hand in front of his face, but Victor was still in deep thought.

“He’s not really noticing me…” Hop sighed and frowned, “To think he’d notice his boyfriend…” Gloria then pocked Hop in the side,

“Hey, give him a nice smooch, that’d shock him.” Hop started to blush and looked down at Victor.

“Uh, okay, if you think that will work.” Hop bent down and kissed Victor on the cheek, who froze and blinked a few times.

“Huh? What?” He looked up and blushed, “HOP!? When did you get here?” Hop smiled and held Victor’s hand.

“I’ve been here, you were in your own little world, Victor.” 

“Oh, right, sorry...I tend to do that when I think a lot…” Victor scratched the back of his head and laughed, “So what’s up, Hop?” Hop looked around and got closer to Victor and Gloria,

“So, I found out the date of the meeting…” 

“What?! Really?” Hop nodded at the twins and smiled,

“Yeah, Coach Raihan was complaining about having to go to it today. Right during lunch break too,” Victor then nodded,

“So it’s today...I didn’t think we are doing this so soon...I hope you two are ready.” Hop and Gloria nodded, “Good, let’s hope we can pull this off.” Gloria ruffled Victor’s hair and smiled,

“Oh, don’t worry, Vic, we have you on our side...you have everything planned out. We trust you to do this!” Victor looked over at his sister and then at Hop, who gave him a thumbs up.

“We’re right behind you! Let’s take this guy down!” 

“Alright, so when it’s a lunch break, we meet up by his office.” Victor, Gloria, and Hop nodded and faced the school, knowing it was all about to change.

  
  


Gloria sat in her desk, her leg bouncing in anticipation. The adrenaline was flowing through her body, like a rollercoaster going at high speeds. She lightly tapped her desk as she stared at the clock. As it struck noon, she let out a small sigh of relief as she slowly stood up.

“Gloria?” She stopped when Marnie called out to her,

“What’s up, Marnie?” Marnie raised her brow and crossed her arms.

“Aren’t we going to have lunch together? You promised that we would.” Gloria silently cursed to herself and pleaded,

“I’m sorry, but Victor needs my help with something! We can have lunch another time, I promise!” Gloria started to sweat as she lied to her friend. Marnie let out a loud sigh and shook her head,

“You care too much about Victor...he’s his own person, you know. You can’t keep trying to coddle him forever.” Gloria looked away and nodded,

“Yeah, I know...but this time, I must be there for him!” Marnie let out a soft smile and motioned here away,

“You really care about your brother, I know, go ahead and go! But next time, you’re treating me.” Gloria grinned and headed out,

“It’s a promise!”

Victor waited with Hop for his sister and perked up when he saw her, “You’re late, Gloria!” He crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

“Sorry, sorry! I tried to get here as fast as I could!” She panted slightly, catching her breath. Victor let out a sigh and looked towards the office.

“No, matter...I looked around a bit, and sure enough, all the teachers and Mr. Rose are gone, save for Ms. Oleana…” He turned towards Hop, “You have a plan to get her out of here?” Hop nodded and grinned,

“Yep! I got the soccer team to help me out with this one.” Gloria raised her brow,

“What do you mean?” Just then, they heard screaming from the halls.

“There’s a wild sheep running around!” A few students pointed out the animal as they ran past Gloria.

“Isn’t that from the agriculture club?” Victor looked at his boyfriend, who whistled innocently.

“I’ll go get Ms. Oleana out of the office and meet you guys outside the window so we can escape...thank goodness he’s on the first floor.” Hop opened the door and screamed,

“Ms. Oleana! There’s a wild sheep running around the schoolyard!” Ms. Oleana put down her pen and stood up,

“I told those students to keep track of their animals! Mr. Hop, please lead me to the animal.” Hop nodded and led her out of the office. Victor and Gloria appeared from the corner and rushed inside.

“Okay, we only have one shot at this, are you ready Glori?” Victor got out the USB drive and gripped the door.

“Of course, Vic! Let’s take this guy down!” Victor nodded and tried to open the door, but it was locked,

“Crap, it’s locked…” 

“I got this…” Gloria pushed him aside and got into a stance...she took a deep breath and kicked the door open with her foot. She looked around and saw an empty desk. “Coast is clear!” 

“Gloria! I’m both scared and amazed at you!” Victor laughed as he stepped over the door that has fallen over.

“Save the praise for later; for now, let’s get to work!” Victor went to Rose’s laptop and grunted,

“Crud, it’s password-locked!” Victor put his hands to his face and sighed, 

“Don’t give up now. I’m sure you can figure it out!” Gloria’s words of encouragement got through to Victor, and he eyed the keyboard.

_‘Okay, so if I were Rose, what would I use as my password….my birthday? No too easy...what does Rose care about the most...or like,’_ Just then they heard a tap on the window. Followed by a text from Hop.

_“Guys, you better get that stuff copied! Rose has just finished the meeting and is coming now!”_ Gloria looked outside, and Hop was waiting down below them. Victor started to panic and put his hands to his temples.

“Come on, Vic, think think!” He tried through a variety of possible passwords, and none of them worked. Gloria rushed towards the front door and put a chair to the doorknob. “Gloria! What are you doing?”

“I’m making sure we have time! I don’t want our future to be controlled by this asshole!” 

_Future...future..._ those words echoed through Victor’s mind. “Wait, that’s it!”

“Future is the password?” 

“What? No!” Victor stood up and looked through the books that Rose had and found a yearbook from last year. He flipped through and found Rose’s name. “There, it says in his quote that the future of Galar rests in his hands.”

“Still not following…” Gloria walked over and eyed the quote.

“His laptop contains everything, including anything regarding the school’s future...so the password should be ‘Rose’s hands,’ or in this case ‘Myhands.’

“Victor, that’s stupid! There’s no way!” Gloria got interrupted when the laptop lit up.

“Got it! Now let’s copy everything of importance.” Victor’s hands sped through the files and found all the spending records and started to copy them. Just then, the door started to bang.

“Crap, it’s Rose! How much longer, Vic?” Gloria walked towards the window and opened it. She looked down and waved at Hop. “Get ready to catch us, Hop!” He nodded and waited,

“It’s almost done, Gloria!” Victor eyed the bar as it reached one hundred percent. “Done!” He grabbed it and walked towards the window. Just as they reached it, the door burst open.

“What the? Why has my office been broken into?” The heard footsteps closing in towards them.

“Gloria, that’s Rose’s voice! We have both have to go!” Gloria looked at the door and back at Victor.

“We don’t have time, he will see both of us... I’m sorry Victor…” 

“Sorry? What do you mea-” Just then, Gloria pushed Victor out of the window, “GLORIA!” Victor shouted to her as he fell into Hop’s arms.

“Hop, take care of Victor for me while I’m gone!” She smiled and turned towards Rose, who came in with security.

“GLORIA! DON’T DO THIS!” Victor cried out as he saw his sister get taken away, “Hop, let me go, we have to save her!”

“It’s too late, Vic! She sacrificed her chance to be in school for us. She knew of the risk and opted to save you. Since you have the USB.” Hop held him back and hugged him, “Don’t go off and getting arrested too!”

“Hop, please let me go! I need to save my sister! I have to!” Victor’s cries turned into tears as he hugged Hop. His sister gave herself up for him...once again.


	22. Broken Pieces

Victor watched from the shadows as he watched Gloria get handcuffed and lead into the police car. Mr. Rose was piping mad, but Gloria, she took it all in stride. She looked back and caught a glimpse of Hop and Victor and smiled, with tears in her eyes. _It’s all up to you two now..._ she took one last look at Victor who cried in Hop’s arms, before heading into the police car.

“Vic, you gonna be okay?” Hop consoled his boyfriend as he quietly cried, 

“It’s all my fault...I knew of the risk and still let her do this...she’s going to be in jail, Hop.” Victor looked up, eyes puffy and red from crying. Hop didn’t know what to do in this situation. All he could do was be there for Victor.

“Vic, she will be okay...we have to focus on stopping Rose!” Victor then pushed Hop away,

“How can I focus if my own sister has been taken from me!” Victor raised his voice and cried out, “She sacrificed everything for me, and I just stood there, doing nothing! Just like I always did when we were kids!” He then clutched his head, “I don’t know what to do now...she’s always been there for me, and now I might not see her ever again…” 

“Vic, we have a chance to get her out!” Hop held out Victor’s hand and held up the USB, “With this, we can get her out.” Victor clasped it and then slapped Hop’s hand away.

“It’s all your fault…” Victor stood up and stepped back, “If it weren’t for you...I wouldn’t have had my accident and missed a month of school.” Victor’s words stung Hop. He had every right to be mad at him; after all, he was the one who started this whole mess.

“Vic, please don’t be like this.” Hop walked towards him, but Victor kept walking back.

“Stay away from me….don’t get near me.” Hop locked eyes with Victor and saw all the pain he went through. Hop clutched his chest and took a deep breath,

“Let me help you, Victor!” Victor turned around and ran away. “Victor!” Hop called out to him and saw the USB on the ground. He picked it up and let out a small whimper and held it close to him. _Victor, you have every right to feel this way towards me, I’m sorry._ Tears fell from his eyes. It trickled down from his face onto the dirt. Hop then felt something fall on top of his head. He slowly looked up and felt rainfall on his face. _Rain...it’s just like the day..._ Hop remembered the fear and pain of Victor’s face when he fell. The extreme guilt Hop felt when Gloria told him that Victor was the one that has fallen for him. _I can’t give up on you, Victor, not after I just saved you from myself._ He stood up and ran towards Victor and Gloria’s home.

  
  


Victor’s chest burned as he ran; his legs felt like they were full of lead with every step he took. _I knew falling for him was a mistake!_ He made it to the door and panted heavily. “I have to figure out how to get Gloria back...maybe mom can help?” He opened and saw his mother waiting for him. “Mom, I’m glad to see you, I-” He felt her hand smack his face. It burned his cheek as he fell down and hit his head against the wall. He looked up and held his face as she looked down at him, tears in her eyes. “Mom?”

“Why did you let her do this, Victor!” She angrily shouted at him; he sat there in shock as even his own mother had turned against him. “I knew what you were trying to do!” She held out a sheet of paper that had Victor’s drawn-out plans and details of exposing Rose. “Why’d you draw attention to yourselves? You and Gloria could’ve had an easy life at school, and now your sister is in jail because of your recklessness!” Victor’s chest tightened as he tried to hold back from crying. He slowly stood back up and looked at his mother,

“Mom, I can explain!” She threw the paper at him and pointed,

“You were so smart, Victor! Yet you did something so stupid, and now I have to deal with one of my kids who might end up in jail!”

“But, Mom, we can save Gloria! We can expose Rose for what he truly is!”

“I don’t care what he does! He’s already done so much for this community! Why can’t you just both fall in line like everyone else!” Victor’s eyes widened, and he took a few steps back. As she walked towards him, ready to hit him again. He shut his eyes and waited...but it never came. He looked up and saw Hop, drenched in the rain. He was holding his mother’s hand back.

“Hop?” Victor looked up as Hop hugged him tightly and smiled,

“I’m sorry for being late...is your face, okay?” Victor buried his face into Hop’s uniform,

“Why’d you come back, you idiot…”

“Gloria and I made a promise to make sure you’re okay.” He turned toward’s Victor’s mother and pushed her back, “What kind of mother hits their own kid! You should be ashamed of yourself! I thought you loved him?” She held her hand and stepped back, “Your kids are risking their lives so that everyone could live a more free lifestyle, and you are just sitting there with your finger up your ass and doing nothing!” Hop was angry; he never felt this mad towards someone before.

“What have I done…” She fell to her knees and stared at her hands. “I was so afraid of losing Gloria that I took my anger out on my own son...Victor, will you forgive me?” She tried reaching out towards him, but Hop pulled him away.

“Mrs. Williams...I think I should watch over him...I’m gonna have him stay at my place for a while…” Victor looked up at Hop as he felt his boyfriend’s warm embrace. He opened his mouth as if to protest but closed it when Hop touched the area of his face where it hurt. “We will get Gloria back and expose Rose...but for now, let’s go, Victor.” He took Victor’s hand and closed the door behind them as the rain began to clear.

* * *

“Hop…” Victor leaned close to Hop’s body and slowly tightened his hand. “Thanks…”

“Of course...I made a promise to myself to always be with you...I want to be the one you can rely on too.” Victor began to blush as Hop’s smile warmed his heart.

_I’ve felt this feeling before..._ Victor thought to himself as they headed towards the station. On the train, Victor sat next to Hop and held his hand in silence. Victor looked up at Hop and leaned close to him.

“Is it okay for me to stay over? I don’t want to impose.” Hop ruffled Victor’s head and grinned,

“My mum won’t mind...she’s been wanting to meet you. Don’t worry; you’ll be fine.” He gave another reassuring smile to the brown-haired boy who returned one back. “Thank goodness it’s the weekend...we can focus on other things for the time being.”

“Yeah…” Victor rested his head in Hop’s lap and sighed, “I’m sorry, Hop…” Hop touched Victor’s cheek, who shut his eyes and grimaced as Hop’s hand touched him, but it didn’t sting as Hop gently caressed his cheek.

“You don’t need to apologize...you had every to blame me for everything…” Hop looked down at him, “I really am an idiot for causing you so much pain, huh?” Tears fell on Victor’s face as he saw Hop smile. “I’m so sorry, Victor!”

“Hop!” Victor quickly sat up and hugged him. “You don’t have to apologize anymore...you already redeemed yourself to me, and Gloria...I’m sorry for dragging you into this as well. But we shouldn’t be spending our time feeling sorry for ourselves...we have something important we have to do!” Hop nodded and held up the USB.

“Yeah, and that’s to bring Rose to justice and clear my sister’s name!” Hop handed the USB to Victor, who shook his head and pushed it back. “Rose is expecting me to have it...I am trusting you to keep it safe for me.” Hop held it and nodded.

“I’ll watch over it, I promise!” He looked outside the window and smiled, “Oh, it looks like we are almost here!” He stood up and held out his hand, “Can you stand?” Victor blushed and smiled,

“Yeah, of course!”


	23. Change

Gloria sat in the police car and looked out towards the window as they drove along...the rain pounding on the vehicle. She glanced down at the metal cuffs that bound her hands together, reminding her of that quick choice to give herself up so that her brother can go free. ‘ _Looks like you’ve done it now, Gloria...Victor is gonna really hate you for this.’_ She thought as she moved the cuffs around. Sure she could easily break them, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

“I hope you know the gravity of the situation you’re in…” The police officer looked back at her and scoffed, “A smart girl like you, breaking into the most powerful man in the district? It doesn’t make sense...you seem like a nice person. But I guess looks can be deceiving.”

“Well, whatever the case... what’s done is done.” Gloria sighed and leaned back towards the leather cushion, it wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t soft. She felt terrible for putting Victor through all this. But she knew this was the right thing to do. _Hop, please take care of Vic for me._ She saw the police station come into view as the rain began to lighten up. _Well, time to face this with my head held high._ She waited for the officer to open the door and lead her out. The light from the sky blinded her as she got out of the car. 

“Come on now!” The officer pushed her towards the building. As they walked in, countless stares of other officers and teenagers stared at her. Gloria’s heart began to beat at a fast pace. She didn’t belong here; she didn’t want to be here. But she already was ready to face the consequences; if it meant that Victor would expose Rose and clear her name. They walked towards the counter, where a woman scowled at her.

“We’ve been waiting for you…” She turned towards the computer and motioned the officer to bring Gloria to the photo booth to take her mug shot.

_“Well, I can at least cross, getting a mugshot off my bucket list’’_ She laughed as her shots were taken. The took all that she had on her, save for her school uniform. Lead her to a cell, and took off her handcuffs.

“You’re gonna be here for a while, just until your court date is up...which would be about a week or two...we will feed you, of course.” The officer smiled softly at her, “you may be a criminal, but you’re still a kid.” Gloria felt a bit more at ease, thanks to the compassion of the officer.

_Kind of reminds me of Victor… he’d always was kind towards others even to total strangers!_ She sat on the cold hard bed and laid down. She turned away from the entrance and silently cried to herself. _Victor...please be okay and safe._

* * *

Victor stepped off the train and glanced around. His eyes immediately fixated on the cafe, the same one where he and Hop had their dates. The rest of the district was quiet, mostly because of the recent weather that had occurred, “What are we doing back at the shopping district, Hop?” Victor tugged on his boyfriend’s arm as they walked past the cafe.

“What’s it look like? We are heading to my house!” Hop smiled as he lead Victor around the corner.

“Wait a minute, just past here are just mansions!” Hop raised a brow and tilted his head and stared at Victor.

“Well, yeah, that’s where I live!” Victor halted and pulled at Hop’s wet jacket.

“You, live there?” Hop gave a nod and laughed,

“I mean, no one’s really asked me where I lived.” He scratched his face and turned a little red, “you’re the first person that I brought home with me...I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no, it’s fine... I’m just a little shocked that’s all.” Victor smiled lightly and laughed, ‘ _I can’t believe my boyfriend lives here!’_ Victor stopped and pulled at Hop again, “Wait, you could go to any school you wanted, why go to Galar High? I’m sure there were better schools you could’ve gone to.”

“I mean, my brother did go here. So it’s only natural that I followed,” Victor then nodded,

“Oh, right! I guess his stardom got you guys a good income.” Hop nodded and led them towards a larget gate that had a big house on the inside. Hop buzzed the intercom and waited,

“Yes, how may I help you?”

“It’s me, Jerry! I’ve returned from school. And I brought Victor.”

“Ah, yes, Master Hop, welcome home. Your mother has been eagerly waiting for your return.” Hop looked back at Victor and waited for the gates to open. The sound of the metal gates filled Victor’s ears as they slowly opened up. Hop grabbed Victor’s hand and grinned,

“Shall, we go?” Victor nodded and uttered a small,

“Yeah.” He walked along the brick path and marveled at the slightly wide open fields. A few workers waved at the two boys as they walked towards the front door.

“You alright, Vic?” Hop stopped and stared at him for a bit,

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little nervous that’s all.” Hop let out a chuckle,

“Victor? Nervous? This is a first!” Victor shot a glare at Hop as he was laughing loudly,

“Don’t make fun of me! I can get nervous too sometimes!” He jabbed at Hop’s sides and froze as it felt hard as a rock. He’s _pretty toned around there, after all…_

“Uh, Victor, You alright? You’re kind of red in the face again.” Victor nodded and looked away,

“I’m fine!” The door opened up, and an older man in a suit greeted them at the door. He smiled and bowed towards the boys.

“Welcome home, Master Hop, and welcome to you, Master Victor. We’ve been hoping for your faithful journey to here. Hop has spoken highly of you.”

“Jerry! Don’t tell him that!” Hop threw his hands back and blushed as Victor giggled at him.

“Looks like someone has been too nervous to take his boyfriend to meet his mother.” Hop glared at Victor as they walked inside. Inside, the house was lined with a beautiful marble floor. There were stairs covered in a fancy material unknown to Victor.

“Wow, this place is huge! I’ve never seen so many rooms!” Victor’s eyes lit up as he walked around.

“I’ll be taking your bags for you, Master Victor.” Jerry walked forward and took the bag from Victor’s arm. He turned towards Hop and gave him a towel. “Master Hop, your mother, is on a trip for the day and will return in the morning, but I suggest you both wash up and get into clean clothes.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. Mum would have a cow if she saw me get sick from the rain!” Hop looked back at Victor and smiled, “Let’s go get washed up, Vic!” He took his hand before the boy could protest.

“Wait! I don’t have any extra clothes! 

“I will handle that, Master Victor!” Jerry smiled and walked away as Victor was brought towards the bathhouse. “Oh, and dinner will be ready shortly!”

“Thanks, Jerry! Come on, Victor!” 

Victor sat on the chair as Hop washed his back for him, _Okay, this isn’t so bad... you’re just sitting naked in the bathroom with your boyfriend; who’s also naked. No pressure!_ Victor sat in silence as Hop poured water over him.

“There we go! Isn’t that better for you?” Hop smiled as he turned around, “Mind getting my back?” Victor fumbled as he grabbed the towel.

“Yeah, sure.” He grazed the towel over Hop’s back and blushed as he felt the strong muscles that adorned his body. _How can someone so lean be so buff?_ Victor thought as he scrubbed it.

“Thanks, babe! Let’s soak in the tub next! Hop jumped up and took Victor’s hand and lead him to the bathtub. The instant Victor touched the hot water, he felt instant relief...all the aches and pains from the day washed away. Hop laughed and leaned back. “Feels good, right?”

“Yeah, it does…” Victor sighed and looked away; he heard the water shift as Hop got closer.

“You alright?”

“Not really. I’m just worried about Gloria...I hope she’s doing alright.”

“She will be, she’s a strong person!” Hop got out of the tub and put a towel over him. “We just have to focus on doing our part.” He held out his hand and helped Victor up.

“Thanks, Ho-” He felt his legs buckle as he fell over Hop. “Oww, are you okay, Hop?” He blushed as he was on top of Hop.

“Yeah, I’m fine...looks like you’ve really fallen for me correctly this time.” Hop smiled as he pushed back Victor’s wet hair. 

“Oh, hush!” Victor pouted and smiled, “I’m glad this time you were able to catch me.” Both boys got closer till their lips were barely touching.

“Boys! Dinner is ready!” Victor jumped off of Hop and blushed as the voice of a woman called out through the intercom.

“We should get dressed, Hop.”

“Yeah, uh here,” Hop handed him another towel. Victor took and dried himself as he walked out of the bathroom and into the changing room. He looked at the basket that was labeled ‘Victor’ and looked inside it.

“Uh, Hop, I think I have your clothes.” Hop walked over, dressed in purple pajamas and laughed,

“No, it’s yours! Well, they were mine for when I was a year younger, but they should be able to fit you!”

“You really had a growth spurt then... I’m so small compared to you.” Victor let out a sigh as Hop dried his hair,

“It’s not so bad!” Victor put it on and pouted as the shirt’s sleeves went over his hands. Hop covered his mouth and tried to hold back from laughing. _So cute,_ He thought, “It looks great on you.”

“It’s still so big on me. But it’s something, at least.” Victor pulled back a sleeve and took Hop’s hand. “Let’s go eat.”

After dinner, Victor laid in the guest room that was adjacent to Hop’s room. He tossed and turned and looked up at the ceiling. “Gloria...you idiot...what were you thinking…” He sat up and pulled out his phone and looked at the picture of himself and his sister smiling. He gripped it and held the phone close to his face. “I miss you, Gloria...I’m so scared, I don’t know what to do!”

“Victor?” The boy jumped as he saw Hop turn on the lights, half-asleep. “You okay? I heard you crying, and I wanted to check on you.” Victor wiped his face and smiled,

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me!” Hop shook his head and sat next to him on the bed,

“You miss her, don’t you?” Victor sniffed and hugged Hop.

“Hop...I miss her so much...I don’t know what to do! I’ve never been without her!” Tears fell from his face as he cried in his boyfriend’s arms. Hop massaged his head and hugged him tightly.

“You’ll be okay. You’re not alone; you have me now.” He grabbed his cheeks and brushed the tears from Victor’s face. 

“Thanks, Hop...for everything…” Hop smiled and stood up,

“Of course, anything for you. Now, goodnight!” Hop turned around but immediately stopped when he felt Victor tug at his shirt.

“Wait! Can you?” 

“Can I what?” Hop looked down at his boyfriend, who was hugging a pillow like a small child,

“Can...you...stay with me for tonight...I feel like I can sleep better with you next to me.” Hop blushed and cleared his throat,

“Yeah, sure, of course.” Victor smiled and shifted to leave room for Hop. He rested his face in Hop’s chest and laughed,

“You’re so warm...thanks, Hop.” Hop’s heart was racing as he felt Victor’s own body heat warm him up.

“Yeah, sure thing...good night, Victor. I love you.” He heard the soft snores of his boyfriend and smiled. “Rest well, my prince.” He kissed him on the head and slowly drifted off.


	24. New Knowledge

Victor opened his eyes and shifted slightly as he woke up. He heard the loud sound of Hop’s snoring fill the room where they were sleeping in. ‘ _Oh yeah, I’m over at his house...well, a mansion at least,’_ Victor chuckled as he turned around. He looked up at Hop and smiled softly as he watched his boyfriend’s body rise and fall as he slept. Victor turned back around while trying not to wake up Hop and looked over at his phone and saw that it was only 8:00 am. “I guess I’ll just freshen up and walk around.” Victor sat up, but Hop immediately hugged his stomach and held him close. “Hop, I can’t get up if you hug me like that.” He looked down as Hop snuggled his head closer to him.

“Don’t go…” He whispered as he hugged Victor closer. 

“Hop?” Victor pushed back Hop’s hair and smiled at him, ‘ _I guess you miss me that much, huh?’_

“Don’t go, Vic...you’re too comfy.” Victor let out a small sigh and kissed Hop on the cheek.

“I won’t be long, I’m just gonna freshen up.” He felt Hop’s grip loosen on him, and he sat up and walked over to the bathroom to wash up. He looked up at the mirror and sighed, “Victor you look like a huge mess.” He stared at his tired eyes and messed up hair. Even his cowlick was a bit more unruly than usual. He looked over at the shower and walked towards it.

He entered the large bathroom and spotted another basket with his name on it. He looked in and found some new clothes that looked a bit smaller than the pj’s he wore. “I guess Jerry got these for me...but how’d he figure out my own size?” He lifted up the plain purple t-shirt and khaki shorts and laughed, “I guess he took my uniform measurements. That’s impressive!” He smiled as he undressed and walked towards one of the stalls. He turned on the water and waited for the right temperature,

_‘This feels nice...’_ he smiled as the hot water cascaded down on to his weary body. He washed his hair and his body and winced as he touched his cheek. He still remembered that familiar feeling of his mother’s hand. The water ran down on his face as he looked up. Seeing his mother upset with him, hurt him, but he deserved it for putting Gloria in danger. “Gloria, I’ll make things right, I swear it.” He turned off the water and stepped out. He dried up and dressed and walked passed the bed where Hop slept. He got closer and shook Hop.

“Hey, Hop...are you gonna wake up?” He stirred and hugged the pillow Victor was sleeping on.

“It’s the weekend, gimmie a few more minutes…” He muttered and cuddled the pillow a bit more. Victor laughed and kissed him on the head.

“Alright, then, I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” Victor turned around to leave but stopped when Hop grabbed his arm. Hop pulled him close and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Hop smiled and turned back around and went back to sleep. Victor touched his cheek and smiled softly as Hop’s lips took the pain of his own mother’s hand away and replaced it to something more comforting. He went out of the room and shut the door behind him. He turned around and jumped as Jerry appeared behind him.

“Ah, good morning, Master Victor!” He handed the boy his uniform, which was nicely cleaned and pressed for him. It was carefully folded and inside a clean plastic film. “I’ve cleaned your uniform for you.” He looked at the clothes Victor wore and smiled, “I take those fit you a lot nicer than Hop’s old pajamas. I tried my hardest to replicate your size. I do hope you don’t mind.” Victor smiled and took his uniform.

“They fit perfectly, Mr. Jerry, thank you.” He placed his uniform off to the side and looked around, “This place is huge! It’s hard to believe it’s just Hop that lives here.”

“Yes, it’s him, his grandparents, and his mother that live here. Ever since Master Leon left to pursue his professional soccer career, young Hop has been living here with no one to hang around with.” Victor looked at Jerry and frowned,

“Hop didn’t have any friends?” Jerry nodded,

“He did, but he never brought them over here. His mother insisted that he’d bring his friends over here one day, but Master Hop decided against it.” Victor looked back at the guest room longingly,

“I wonder what made me so different than the rest?”

“Maybe you are that special someone that Hop needed the most? He does talk about you a lot.” Victor turned towards Jerry, who picked up Victor’s uniform and placed it in a box.

“He does?”

“Yes, that is correct. Hop mentioned your accident about a month ago and asked me to take him to the hospital you were staying at every day. He even woke up really early for it. You must’ve done something to make him feel this way towards you.” 

“Well, I did fall for him,” Victor said softly. ‘ _I always did hear a small voice when I was asleep for that long...I always thought it was Gloria, but I guess it turns out it was you after all’._

“Shall, I wake Master Hop so you two can spend some time together before his mother shows up?” Victor waved his hands around and smiled, 

“Give him a few more minutes. I can wait for him!” Jerry bowed to Victor and went on his way, 

“Oh, right, breakfast will be ready in about an hour. Shall I escort you to the waiting den while you wait for him?” Victor nodded and followed behind Jerry as they walked along the halls of Hop’s mansion.

“So what’s your story, Mr. Jerry? What’s a gentle soul such as yourself doing in a place like this?” 

“I am indebted to Hop’s mother. She helped feed my family when we lost almost everything. My family lives in a separate building from this home, so they are close by.” Victor looked to the ground and smiled,

“It must be nice having family nearby…”

“I’ve heard about your sister... I’m sorry for what happened.” Victor perked up and ran up closer to Jerry,

“Wait, what have you heard?”

“Oh, that she broke into one of the most influential figures of the district. But something doesn’t add up. Why would she break in? Master Hop told me great things about you both... it’s unlikely for someone like her to do such a thing.” Victor bit his lip and looked away.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jerry... that’s something I can’t share with you...not right now.”

“Fair enough, but I’m sure Hop’s mother would love to hear it.” Victor stared at the back of Jerry’s head and clutched his chest,

_What does he mean by that? Does his mother want to hear it? What does she have to gain with this knowledge? Can I even trust Hop’s family? Victor’s_ mind went all over the place as he walked towards the den room. Jerry stopped and gestured Victor towards the large couch. The couch was made with fine leather that surrounded a large glass table. In the den room sat a decently sized fireplace that was freshly lit. Victor’s mind eased at the comfiness of the room. Victor sat down and bounced excitedly on the couch, “Here we are. I’ll make sure to tell Master Hop where his beloved boyfriend is at.”

“Wait, he told you?” Victor turned red and stared at Jerry who laughed,

“Oh, he couldn’t stop talking about you. Every day it’s always Victor, Victor, Victor. But I have to thank you on behalf of the staff.” Jerry bowed at Victor, “Thank you for bringing happiness back into Hop’s life.” Victor sat in shock as Jerry and a few staff members bowed to him.

“Happiness? What do you mean?” Jerry stood back up and smiled,

“You know about his older brother?” Victor let out a nod, and Jerry continued, “Leon rose to fame at a rather fast pace...he was able to provide his family with this fortune. But the brighter a star shines...it cast a bigger shadow. Hop was surrounded by his brother’s fame. He was always known as just ‘Leon’s younger brother’; still, he tried his best to make a name for himself. But even then, that was not enough.” Victor looked at his hands and sighed,

“I never knew about Hop until my sister told me...I never thought he’d this outshined by Leon.” Jerry nodded and continued to speak,

“He’d always come home tired and exhausted, but always had a smile on him, but it felt forced and fake. I feared that the love in his eyes for his brother turned into envy and jealousy. That is until you came along. He started to shine again as he did when he was younger. Like he found someone that he considered precious to him.” Victor sat back and looked at the ceiling,

_‘Looks like love was able to keep you from losing yourself, Hop...I’m glad we decided to give each other a second chance in happiness. But you at least made yourself known to me...as my boyfriend.’_ Victor looked back up at the staff and softly smiled, “Thanks, Jerry. I will do my best to make sure Hop and I are happy.” Jerry nodded and went on his way. Victor took out his phone and flipped through the news. He stopped at one article, talking about the head of the Eudios sports company is coming home after a week-long trip from another country. _Oh, that’s cool! I guess that means the sports clubs will be going crazy at school._ He laughed as he flipped through his phone some more, immediately stopping at an article about Rose.

_Highschool Girl arrested for breaking into Rose’s office! Reports said that the girl was a loose cannon ready to break at any given moment! What she wanted in his office is shrouded in mystery as Rose himself refused to offer more details. The girl’s trial will happen in about a week, but Rose will make sure she will be put behind bars for a while._ Victor dropped his phone onto his lap. He gripped his arm and felt his heartbeat rise.

“This is bad, I have to do something to clear Gloria of her name...but Rose is probably expecting me to be around, I can’t put Hop at risk too.” Victor put his hand to his chin and closed his eyes. “If I go to school, I’m sure Rose would be eyeing me 24/7, but if I don’t he’d get suspicious of me. I can’t have Hop hold onto the USB. He’d be in danger too.”

“Lost in thought, Vic?”

“Yeah, I just don’t know what to do…wait.” He looked up and saw Hop. “Hop!” He jumped back and fell down.

“Victor!” Hop ran over and picked him up. “You okay?” Victor nodded and grabbed onto Hop’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” He froze as he realized Hop was shirtless, his hair was dripping with a towel slung over his head, “Did...did you just step out of the shower?” Hop gave a smile and nodded,

“Yeah, Jerry woke me up and told me that you were waiting for me, so I took a quick shower and ran over.” Victor looked at Hop and began to blush,

“That’s great that you wanted to see me but, but,” Hop grinned and pulled Victor close to him and held his chin up.

“But what Victor? Can’t help but look at your boyfriend?” His voice was so sultry that it sent sparks up Victor’s spine, “You may be smart, but you’re so easy to read.” Victor swallowed and slowly reached up. Hop saw his hands and laughed, “Oh? You want to feel my body don’t you?”

“I want you to to...dry your head!” Victor took the towel and rubbed Hop’s hair with it. “You could get sick if you’re not careful!” Hop laughed as Victor dried him.

“Aww geez, Vic! Way to ruin my fun!”

“There’s nothing fun about getting sick, Hop!”

“He’s right! You shouldn’t take your health lightly.” A new voice appeared from the corner of the room. Victor looked up and saw a woman with dark skin and purple hair like Hop. She was dressed in a black business suit and carried a suitcase behind her.

_Why does she look familiar to me? Wait...that hair...where have I seen that before. Oh, it’s that CEO I saw in the article!_ _I guess she lives here with Hop and his family._ Victor wondered as Hop sat up and smiled wide.

“Welcome, home, Mum!” Hop smiled

“Wait, Mom???”


	25. The Eudios

Victor threw his arms back in shock, “She’s your mom?” Hop laughed and smiled as he slipped a shirt on, given to him by Jerry.

“Yeah, she’s my mum!” Victor looked over at her as she had the same smile as Hop. She gave her suitcase to one of the staff members who bowed to her. She took off her black hat and smiled at Victor.

“Mrs. Eudios, head of the Eudios Sports Incorporated! It’s nice to meet you finally. Victor!” She held out her hand, and he slowly shook it,

“The pleasure is mine Ms. Eudios.” She giggled and ruffled Hop’s hair,

“He’s much cuter in than you described, Hop! You better take good care of him!” Hop blushed as he walked over to Victor.

“Of course, I do! Well, not since his accident, but now I take extra care of him.” Ms. Eudios tilted her head and nodded,

“Oh, right, yes, Victor’s little fall. You poor thing, I hope you’re okay! Hop was worried to death about you! He wouldn’t stop crying unless he got to see you at the hospital.”

“MOM!” Hop blushed and glared at her, who stuck her tongue out at him, “I didn’t cry that much!”

“Sure, sure.” She laughed as she took off her coat.

_‘This is getting too weird,’_ Victor thought as he saw a literal CEO of one of the most major companies in the region, right in front of him. He walked up to Hop and whispered to him, “Hop, you didn’t tell your Mom was the CEO of Eudios Sports!”

“You didn’t ask. And it’s in my name,”

“Oh, right, I guess I didn’t ask, or the thought didn’t occur to me.” Hop laughed at him as they looked towards Mrs. Eudios,

“You were too busy to ask about me,” Victor then pulled on Hop’s ear and smiled,

“And who’s fault is that?” 

“Ow, ow, it was mine! I already apologized, what more do you want from me, Vic?” Victor let go as Hop rubbed his ear. He pouted and crossed his arms,

“Maybe a nice date after all this is over.” Hop hugged him and pelted his boyfriend with kisses,

“I promise I’ll take you out on the fanciest dinner, okay!” Victor blushed and nodded,

“Okay, you win.”

“Yes!” Hop jumped in the air and giggled, “You’re gonna love it, Victor!” Ms. Eudios walked up to Victor and eyed him,

“So, tell me, what plan do you have to expose Mr. Rose?” Victor’s heart stopped as she confronted him. He hid behind Hop and spoke,

“What do you mean?” She sighed and sat on the couch,

“Rose has been terrible for the community. I’ve had my suspicions that he was doing something illegal; I had his computer bugged but came up with nothing, but that is until we noticed that an outside source was able to hack into it and copy files.” She then leaned forward and laughed, “Hop told me about you and your sister, Victor. When I saw the news about her being arrested, It started to click for me.” Victor gripped Hop’s arm,

“How’d you find out?” She grinned and pointed at Hop

“Your boyfriend’s not very good at keeping secrets.” Victor turned to Hop and shouted,

“Hop! You told her?”

“I’m sorry, Vic! But she can help us, Victor!” Victor looked to the ground and stepped back,

“I don’t know, Hop…” Hop then grabbed Victor’s hands and held them up,

“If you don’t trust her, you can trust me.” Victor locked eyes with Hop and blushed as his eyes sparkled with determination and drive.

“Okay, Hop. I’ll trust her for your sake.” He kissed Hop’s hands and looked at Mrs. Eudios. “I’ll answer anything you ask of me,” She smiled and sat more attentive.

“You’re the one who hacked into his computer?”

“Not really, he leaves his stuff wide open through a password that is very convoluted,” She slapped her forehead and groaned,

“Of course! I thought it was something more intricate. When Hop told me you were smart, I didn’t think this smart.” Victor let out a small chuckle,

_‘I mean, I was under tremendous stress during that, but thankfully, Rose is pretty easy to figure out.’ “_ So I assume you plan on wanting to use the data I collected on the USB.”

“That’s correct! We just have to find the files, and we can put Rose to justice.”

“There’s a problem,” Victor sighed and sat down on the couch, “In a rush, I just went and copied everything in that folder...it might be a while to filter through it all.”

“Well, I’m sure we can look through it. But it would probably take about a few weeks.” 

“A FEW WEEKS!” Victor shot up quickly, “We don’t have that amount of time!” 

“Vic, it’s okay, we just have to be patient!” Hop grabbed his arm and tried to calm him down.

“We don’t have time! Gloria’s trial is in a week! She’s going to be locked up in jail to who knows where!” He held out his phone and pointed to the article. “I might be able to see my sister again...Please, Ms. Eudios, you have to find it fast! Let me help you!” She stood up and shook her head,

“You have to go to school to keep an eye on Rose and make sure he doesn’t suspect a thing.” 

“I don’t know...he probably knows that I know...I’m just so scared.” Victor fell back on the couch and hugged himself. “I don’t know what to do…” Hop sat down next to him and hugged him,

“Vic, it’s okay. I’m here for you.” He kissed his cheek and held his hand. Victor smiled and hugged Hop back.

“Thanks, Hop…” Ms. Eudios walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder,

“I will make sure to get the data as fast as we can...I promise on the Eudios name that we will bring him to justice and save your sister.” Victor smiled and nodded,

“Right, Okay... I’ll face whatever Rose throws at me. I know I’ll be strong for Gloria, and for you Hop.” Victor hugged him tightly, “Thank you for being there for me.”

“You’re welcome; I made a promise to you to be there for you. And I plan on keeping it!” Hop walked over to his bag and handed his mother the USB, “We are counting on you, mum, please.” She took and gave it to Jerry,

“I’ll have my best man on the case. For now, let’s get you, boys, some food. I bet you’re hungry! Jerry, what’s for breakfast?”

“Pancakes Maam,” Mrs. Eudios and Hop smiled wide,

“OHHHH!” They ran towards the kitchen a blinding speed, almost knocking over Victor.

“Oh, I guess it runs in the family.” Jerry picked up Victor and laughed,

“Don’t worry; I always make extras. They do eat a lot.” Victor laughed and walked towards the kitchen,

  
 _‘Gloria, once, this is all over I’ll show you Hop’s house too.’_ He looked towards his school uniform and bit his lip. ‘ _Rose, you’ll get yours, and then you’ll know never to mess with us, Williams.’_


	26. Laying low

Victor sat in Hop’s family car as it drove towards the school. Victor stared out the window and bounced his leg, _What would people think about me, now that Gloria’s in jail._ He thought, he brought his hands to his chin and stared at the ground. _Would Rose say anything while I’m there? Will he suspect that it was me that copied his files?_ In the midst of his, thinking Hop sat next to him and kissed his cheek. “Huh?” He looked over and saw his boyfriend, worried to death.

“Vic, you’re making that face again.” Hop grinned and pocked the side of Victor’s face,

“What face?” Victor pouted and stared at Hop,

“The scary looking one.” Hop stretched and put his arms behind his head and leaned back, “I know you’re thinking about school and Rose. It’s okay to be scared.”

“Me, scared?” Victor laughed and twiddled his thumbs, “Nonsense... I’m not scared. I can’t be...I have to be strong for…” Hop sat closer and held his hand,

“For, Gloria?” Victor stared at him a regretful look on his face and nodded,

“Yeah, I’ve always had to be strong for Gloria and myself. She always looked to me for guidance, and I always found a way to solve things, but…” at that moment like a sudden drop, the weight of all of Victor’s emotions hit. Tears fell from his eyes and onto his hands. “I don’t know what to do this time, Hop. I’m so scared.” Hop quickly hugged Victor and held his head.

“It’s alright, Victor. You’re not weak for admitting you’re scared. But I want to let you know that I am here for you, and Gloria is too!” Victor rubbed his face and smiled,

“Thanks, Hop. But what about Rose?” Hop pressed his finger onto Victor’s lips.

“Enough about him. Don’t worry. My mum and Jerry will take care of things. We just need to do our part and not arouse suspicion.” Hop grinned as he held Victor’s hand. “Let’s focus on something else.”

“Like today’s exams?” Hop dropped his smile and stared at him.

“Wait, that’s today??” Victor nodded and was startled when Hop grabbed his cheeks,

“Oh, crap! I didn’t get to study that much! Jerry! How much longer till we get to school?” 

“About fifteen minutes, Master Hop.” Hop smiled and brought out his notebook, 

“Perfect! I can do this!” Victor watched as Hop hurried through the notebook,

_Reminds me of Gloria..._ He giggled as he took the notebook from him. “Want me to help you out?” He opened it and laughed, “Hop, your notes are something else…” Hop blushed and took the notebook from his hands,

“Don’t make fun of me...I try to take notes, but the Professor talks so fast, so I needed to shorthand stuff, and I was busy thinking about stuff…” 

“Like what?” Victor raised an eyebrow at Hop who responded by kissing his head,

“You! You big dummy!” Victor fixed his hair and looked away,

“Oh, right…” He smiled while looking out the window. Hop laughed and balanced the soccer ball on his head,

“Well, there was you and the big game that was coming up tomorrow.” 

“Oh, yeah, isn’t it against your toughest rivals in the standings?” Hop smiled and nodded,

“Yep! I’m feeling pumped! I know we can win it!” Victor laughed as he saw Hop get excited, 

“Well, here’s something to help you, Hop.” Hop giggled and moved his cheek closer to Victor in excitement but shot his eyes opened when he saw Victor hand him his notebook. “Here you go, Hop! My notebook should be able to help you with your exams!” He smiled wide as Hop took it with a sorrowful look.

“Oh, thanks…” He flipped through it and sighed. He looked out the window and began to pout. _So close, Hop..._ He thought as he looked back into the notebook. As he watched, he was bewildered by the amount of information written on it. Vic’s _handwriting is so neat and easy to read...and a lot of his notes are easy to understand…_ He looked over at Victor, who was studying his own notes. Hop blushed a bit as he watched his boyfriend work. Victor caught Hop’s stare out of the corner of his eye and looked over at him.

“Is there something wrong, Hop? Is there something you don’t understand? I’m sorry if I didn’t explain it well in my notes.” Hop shook his head and waved his arms in front of him.

“No, no, it’s fine! It’s just...I’m amazed that your notes are so meticulously and informative!” His comment put a smile onto Victor’s face as he put up the notes.

“Thanks, I wanted to make the material easy to understand for Gloria!”

“Wait, you let her copy off you work?” Victor laughed and shook his head,

“I would never let her cheat off of me. I’ve never straight up told her the correct answer. I’ve always helped guide her with them. I know she’s capable of figuring it out her own way,” He looked at his phone and beamed wide at the photo of himself and Gloria. “But it always makes me happy when she finds out the answer...it makes all my hard work worth it in the end.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. I mean, anyone can figure these out! You detail everything so perfectly, but it’s straightforward to understand stuff!” 

“Really? I’m glad! And Hop,”

“Yeah, Vi-” Hop was interrupted when Victor pulled on his tie closer to him and felt Victor’s soft lips touch his cheek. Hop’s face heated up as the smaller boy parted from his face.

“Good job on studying. And that was for luck for the game later.”

“Thanks, Victor…” Hop touched his face and grinned as they neared the school.

“We are here!” Jerry got out of the car and stepped towards the door and opened it. A few students looked on as the fancy car parked close by. Victor felt the sting of their stares and heard quiet mutters as he stepped out of the vehicle.

_‘It’s okay, Victor...don’t let them get to you...you are strong!’_ His palms began to sweat; his mouth became dry as he adjusted his bag. He took a step forward, but his legs felt like jelly, and he tripped.

“Whoa!” Hop quickly caught Victor before he could eat the ground. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little out of sorts today.” Victor adjusted his bag and stared up at the school. His heart started to race as they walked closer.

“Victor.”

“Yeah?” Victor froze as he felt Hop’s hand touch his own.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Hop kissed his head and brushed back Victor’s hair while playing with the cowlick that was on his boyfriend’s head. Victor quickly slapped Hop’s hand away and blushed,

“Stop playing with that! It’s bad enough that I can’t keep it down!”

“What are you talking about? I think it’s cute! I love your hair! It’s so floofy!”

“Floofy?” Victor raised his brow at him as Hop nodded,

“Yep! Floofy! It’s not really that fluffy, but it’s still soft and stuff!” Victor stared at Hop and started to laugh,

“Hop, that’s the silliest and cutest thing ever. I like it!” He touched his hair and ran his fingers through it. “No one’s really complimented my hair other than Gloria, but I was pretty sure she said it, so I’d stop using her products.” Hop watched as Victor perked up again and slowly took his hand.

“Feel better?” Victor gave a small nod and slowly parted away from Hop.

“Yeah, thanks for everything. Good luck with your exams, okay?”

“You as well,” Hop replied, “I have a lot of soccer practice today, so I don’t think I’ll be able to see you much until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine! I need to get back to my home and make sure my mother is okay!” Victor kicked a rock on the ground and stared at it for a bit. “Uh, I’ll be able to see the game, at least. I’ll be cheering for you!” 

“Thanks! I’ll be sure to deliver the game-winning goal when I see you!” Hop took Victor’s hand and pulled him close. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah, of course!” Victor closed his eyes as Hop brought his face closer to his and gave him a light kiss on the lips. It only lasted an instant, but it still sent shivers up Victor’s spine. 

“I wish I could kiss you more, Victor…” Hop sighed and had a depressed look on his face. Victor reached up and touched Hop’s cheeks and softly smiled,

“I’ll be sure to give you a lot of kisses when I see you tomorrow! Good luck, and I’ll talk to you later!” Victor ran off but stopped and turned around, “Oh, Hop!”

“Yeah?” Hop looked over as Victor kissed his hand and blew it towards him. Hop laughed and caught the ‘kiss’ in the air and pressed his hands close to him. He lifted it up and smiled, “I caught it!”

“Good job!” Victor smiled and ran off inside while Hop walked towards the other direction.

“I can’t wait till all of this is over…” Hop adjusted his bag and noticed that he still had Victor’s notebook. “I’ll give it to him tomorrow when I see him.” He put it back in his bag and went on his way.

* * *

Victor walked through the halls, avoiding the stares of his fellow classmates. His pace quickened as he walked,

_‘Look it’s the brother of the convict!’_

  
  


_‘You think he’d be a loose cannon like his sister? I mean, they are twins after all!’_ Victor bit his lip as he walked passed the students who were badmouthing Gloria. He felt helpless in fighting back. 

_'Gloria would give these guys a good thrashing if they were talking about me.'_ He thought, ' _you always would stand up for me...while I’d just sit back from afar, doing nothing but cry._ He clutched his bag and looked forward. _No, I am doing something! I am gonna clear your name and bring Rose to justice!_ '

He walked passed Mr. Rose’s office and caught a glimpse of the damage Gloria had done. “Wow, that’s a lot more destructive than I thought...good on you, Glori.” He laughed and went on his way but felt a large hand on his shoulder. “What?” He looked up, and Mr. Rose was smiling at him.

“Ah, Mr. Victor...just, the boy I needed to see! Care to talk to me in my office for a bit? I have something important I need to discuss with you!” Victor’s heart skipped a beat at Rose’s presence.

“Can it wait? I have an important exam coming up!” He felt Rose’s hand gripe him tighter as he was pulled inside his office.


	27. Setting things in motion

Gloria opened her eyes and rolled around the makeshift cot they called a bed. She stretched and sat up. _Another day in the slammer, gone by... it’s kind of getting boring just sitting here waiting for my fate..._ She thought. The typical days were just her sitting in her cell, waiting for the food to be delivered to her. The food was acceptable to her, but it wasn’t something fancy like back home. They at least let her read books, but they only served to pass the time. ‘ _They can send all the books they want to me, Victor already recommended these already.’_ She placed the book over her face and sighed, the clock outside the cell, ticking and ticking. Foretelling her fate as time went by. She heard loud footsteps towards her cubicle. She sat up and saw the guard unlock it.

“Get up!” She shouted,

“What seems to be the problem? Have I been misbehaving?” Gloria put her book down as the guard scoffed,

“Just come with me!” She took Gloria’s hands and handcuffed them and pulled her along. The other inmates who were locked up alongside her looked on as she walked. As they walked outside, she saw the police car waiting for her.

“Wait, am I moving cells?” She looked over at the officer who shook her head,

“We got word that your trail has been moved to tomorrow. You’re going to be moving to a jail closer to the building.” Gloria’s face dropped at the news.

“What? There must be some mistake!” She was pushed towards the car. She wanted to resist, but her body didn’t fight back.

“There’s no mistake. Rose is a very impatient man, and wants to see your trial tomorrow…” The door closed behind Gloria, who looked on as the car drove away. She looked at the metal handcuffs and tried to hold her hands together.

_Calm down, Gloria. Just believe in Victor._ She looked out the window and prayed that her brother would pull through. _You always manage to find a way out of things..._ The view of her old jail quickly went out of sight; the last thing she saw was a motorbike driving around the building. “How are you going to get yourself out of this mess, Glori... Vic’s going to kill you for being so reckless…” She laughed as the car began to drive away.

  
  


* * *

“Ow! What gives! I haven’t done anything wrong!” The door slammed behind Victor, causing him to flinch. Rose walked around him and stared at Victor, who stood still, waiting for the silence to be broken.

“You think you’re so smart.” Victor let out a small nod and snickered,

“Um Yeah, I am the top of my class.” Rose slammed the desk, causing some of his papers to fall.

“Funny, here I thought your sister was the snide one. But I guess birds of a feather as the saying goes.” Rose picked up the papers and faced Victor. “Where is it?” His voice getting louder,

“Where’s what?” Victor gripped his bag and swallowed hard,

“Don’t play coy with me, boy!” Rose raised his voice and pointed at his laptop. “Where is that drive with the files on it?” Victor stood his ground and took a deep breath,

“Even if I had it, I don’t have it on me, Mr. Rose!” Victor watched as Rose grabbed his bag and dumped its contents onto the ground. A variety of papers, pencils and the like fell in a heap. Rose desperately searched Victor’s belongings, tearing at each paper he saw in frustration. He stopped and sat back in his desk in defeat.

“I was careless and let you roam freely when you saw my secret. I thought that if I just let your stupid sister’s antics slide, you’d keep your mouth shut.” His face grew more furious as he stood up. “But after that little stunt with her! I was furious; I wanted that brat locked away! I wondered at first why she would even be in my office; then, I realized that she was just a pawn in your game...I knew you were behind this mess. No one else is capable of such feats other than you. A pair of twins, a girl who’s strength is unmatched, and a boy who’s smarts far exceeds comprehension. Now, where is it?” Victor slammed his hands on the table and faced Rose. He had enough of this slander towards Gloria, he glared at Rose, asserting dominance with his presence.

“I had enough of this slander towards my sister! What you are doing is illegal! You can’t just run a drug business while owning a school! You’re putting all the students in danger!” Rose started to laugh maniacally,

“You think I care about the wellbeing of the students? How small-minded can you be?” Rose stood up and walked towards the window. “Did you know this school is going to be shut down in a few years.” 

“What? What do you mean?” Victor asked,

“Yes, it’s true...we lacked the funding...I knew this was going to happen. You know of Hop’s older brother, Leon?” Victor nodded,

“Yeah, he rose to fame after becoming a famous soccer player.”

“Well, thanks to him, we were able to gain a little funding for the school! But that only lasted for a short time...we weren’t able to replicate that same star. The board lost faith, and we lost money. I didn’t know what to turn to.” He turned towards Victor with a somber look on his face. “That’s why I must do this! To save Galar’s future!”

“What a bunch of crap!” Victor shouted, “I saw what you were using that supposed drug money! You were using it for yourself! Saving Galar? Don’t make me laugh, Mr. Rose! I’m not going to sit back and watch you play the supposed hero of this school while people might get hurt from this!” Victor adjusted his bag and started to walk away,

“Where are you going?” Rose turned around and pointed towards him.

“I’m going to go put you to justice.” Victor opened the door and ran into two men in suits that blocked his way. Rose laughed loudly,

“I don’t think you don’t know the gravity of the situation, young Victor…” 

“What do you mean?” Just as Victor turned around, a cloth was put around his mouth. Victor tried to scream, but the fabric muffled it, the fumes of the chloroform started to enter his lungs, causing him to slowly blackout. He tried to run, but the men in suits held back his arms and body as Rose walked up to Victor and smiled,

“If you won’t tell me where it is, maybe I can ask your dear Hop?” Victor glared at Rose as he tried to stay awake. “I’m pretty sure he knows, but I know he won’t tell me. Maybe I can crush his spirit...I hear a crucial game is coming up for him...if he were to say, forfeit the match. His dream of surpassing his brother will all be for naught!”

_Rose, you….bast..._ Victor blacked out and fell to the ground. Rose walked over and watched as Victor laid motionless.

“Go take him away, and tie him up!” He motioned to one of the men in the suits. “Hop will give us the USB, and I just know how to make him do that.” He looked at Victor then back to his computer. “Soon the loose ends will be out of my hair, and I can continue being the silent hero Galar needs.”


	28. A new rival

Hop ran to the classroom with a light bound. He looked down at Victor’s notebook and smiled as he brushed his finger across Victor’s name written on the top. _Thanks for being my light..._ He sat in the desk with a huge smile on his face. Dawn walked in with Barry and smiled as she saw her friend,

“You’re awfully excited about the exams, Hop. Did something happen?” She smiled as she sat behind him.

“Well, that’s part of it.” He held up Victor’s notebook and grinned at it.

“Whoa! Is that Victor William’s notebook?” Barry grabbed it from Hop’s hands and held it up. “I heard that his notebook holds all the secrets to his brain!” Dawn scoffed loudly,

“Oh, come on, Barry, don’t be ridiculous. I mean, yeah, we’ve heard rumors that his notebook has the secrets to learning but not his brain.” Barry’s eyes lit up, and he slowly opened the book.

“No!” Hop jumped up and grabbed it from Barry’s hands, “Don’t touch it! It’s very important to me!” Hop held it close to his chest and blushed,

“Oh, come on, Hop! You have to share that! But I guess it’s fair that you want to keep it to yourself...you probably snatched it from Victor while he was distracted.” 

“He actually gave it to me,” Hop his face, bright red. Barry’s jaw dropped, and he then slapped Hop’s back,

“Oh! I get it! You probably scared him into helping you!” Barry started to laugh but stopped when Dawn slapped him with a book,

“Barry! Can’t you read the room? He obviously did a favor for Victor, and he’s just repaying him back.” Hop laughed and shook his head,

“Nope, that’s not it either.” Dawn and Barry raised their eyebrows and tilted their head,

“Then what’s the reason?” They both said in unison. Hop scratched his cheek and blushed a bit brighter,

“He’s my boyfriend, and he offered to help me.”

“WHAT??” They shouted, just then a boy with black hair, who sat behind Barry, lifted his head up and grinned,

“Wasn’t it obvious? Just a few days ago, Hop would get all gushy about him whenever he was close to them.” 

“Lucas! Why didn’t you tell us?” Dawn shook the boy awake who yawned,

“I thought you two knew...Hop congrats on nabbing the smartest guy in school. I wish you the best in love!” Hop gave Lucas a thumbs-up as the boy rested his head,

“Thanks, Luke! I’ll do my best!” Hop laughed as he checked his phone and shot a quick message to Victor.

_‘Hey! Best of luck with the exams! But I guess you don’t need luck since you’re wicked smart!’_ Hop put his phone away and waited for the teacher to pass out exams. Hop took a deep breath and turned the page over and smiled as he knew the answers to them.

_‘Vic, I love you so much! I’m going to do well on this!’_

Hop filled in his test with ease but hit a small snag when some questions proved to Hop that only fifteen minutes of studying, no matter how well the notes were, would save him.

_‘_

_Crap, I really should’ve listened to Victor during our study lessons...but he was so cute when he was in teaching mode.’_

Hop smiled and giggled to himself as he started to draw Victor’s hair on his test. He stopped and realized what he had done and quickly erased it.

‘There’s _no time to be all gushy, Hop! You can see Victor all you want after all this is over! Besides, you have other stuff to think about.’_ He thought as he focused on the rest of the test.

After what felt like forever, the bell rang for the students to go home. “Thank goodness today’s a half-day!” Barry shouted as he jumped up from his desk.

“Geez, Barry, you’re too loud! You’re gonna wake up, Lucas!” Dawn covered her ears as she looked over at Lucas who was nodding his head off,

“Oh, lighten up, Dawn! Luke doesn’t mind! He even told me he liked my hyperactive energy!” Lucas lifted his head and smiled as he went back to sleep. Hop laughed as Barry smiled at his friend. He then looked at the clock and stood up,

“I’m heading to practice... I’ll see you guys later!” He waved off at the trio and headed to the field.

His teammates greeted Hop as he entered the field. One of them with spiky brown hair smiled and laughed as the boy approached, “Well, look who is here!”

“Hey, Blue! I’m sorry for keeping everyone waiting!” The older male ruffled Hop’s hair,

“Don’t sweat it, chief! You’re our ace player, and I’ll be damned as captain to give you a hard time! Now is everyone ready for practice?” The team nodded and gave a loud shout as they took the field. Hop smiled as he was in top form. He nailed each shot in quick succession and dodged every opponent. He adjusted his foot and kicked the ball, but it was blocked by the goalie and flew off towards a person,

“Look out!” Hop shouted, but the person caught and threw it down. Hop watched as he saw a boy with messy platinum blond hair kick the ball straight into the goal. Hop froze as the boy walked up to him.

“Heh, so you’re Hop.” The boy was dressed in a white blazer with a pink flower sewn on the side. He brushed back his hair and glared at Hop.

“Yeah, and you are?”

“How, rude! I’ll have you know that I come from the rival school you lot are going up against tomorrow! But by the looks of things, it won’t be much of a match.” Hop gritted his teeth and stepped forward,

“What did you say?!” Blue hurried and held back Hop,

“Easy, mate. Don’t let him get to you.” Hop stared as the boy laughed,

“Temper, temper. Bede is the name, don’t forget it! Cause that’s what the crowd will be shouting once I crush you under my foot. Till then, bye-bye!” He walked off in a hurry, leaving Hop behind on the field.

“Blue, let’s get some more practice in...I want to wipe that snobbish face clean off when we beat him!” Blue smiled as he turned towards the team.

“Right, let’s go, guys!” The team nodded as they continued to practice.

That evening Hop sat in the family car and leaned back towards the chair, “That was rough…”

“I take everything went well, Master Hop?” Jerry said while driving away,

“Yep, we worked really hard today! Everyone is counting on me to deliver the winning goal! And I’m sure Victor is excited to see me!” Hop got out his phone to check his messages but frowned when he noticed that Victor hasn’t replied since this morning. “That’s odd; he usually returns my messages. I guess he is seeing his mother.” He looked away and sighed, “he did tell me that he’d see me at the game tomorrow. But….” He looked down at his phone and hovered over the call button. 

_‘Nah, he’s okay... I’ll see him tomorrow during the game!’_

“Oh, Master Hop!”

“Yes, Jerry?”

“Since today is a day off from school tomorrow, do you want me to wake you up in the normal weekend hours?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll wake up for the game; I guess I’m thankful it’s in the day time.” Hop laughed as he looked out the window. The sun slowly setting on the school behind them.

* * *

  
  


Victor’s eyes fluttered open as he lifted his head, _Ow, my head,_ He thought. He noticed that his mouth was bound shut by a cloth, he tried moving his hands, but they were tied to a chair along with his legs. _Where the hell am I?_ He started to move but was only able to muster the strength to move an inch.

“Comfortable?” He heard a familiar voice as his eyes slowly adjusted in the room he was in; Rose walked up and smiled as he came into the light. Victor glared as Rose lifted his chin. “Not so high and mighty now. Hope you feel comfy, cause this is where you’re going to be for the rest of your life.” He waved his arms around and showed a small room surrounded by concrete. “Here is where I do my dealings! It’s in a secure location, so no one will be able to help you!” Victor managed to loosen the cloth and spat out.

“So what? You’re just going to leave me here to rot? You do realize Hop will notice I’m gone, and he will find you!” Rose smiled and punched Victor across the face causing him to fall onto the ground...blood fell from his mouth as he stared up at him.

“Best shut your mouth! And I know Hop will try to find you, but for now, I’m going to use you to make sure he gives us those files, and crush his dreams at the same time.” Victor grunted and tried to break free, but the more he tried to move the ropes tightened around him. “It’s no use breaking free… With your sister in jail and your precious boyfriend soon to be so dejected, no one will save you.” Victor shut his eyes as tears fell from his face.

“You won’t get away with this…” Rose snapped his fingers, and the two men in suits picked Victor’s chair up and sat him up.

“I already have, now you sit tight while I make an important phone call to a certain someone.” He got out Victor’s phone and smiled as Victor’s face dropped.

“No!” Victor’s screams were cut short as the cloth was wrapped around his mouth again. He watched in dismay as he watched Rose dial Hop’s number.


	29. Testing Faith

Hop woke up from his bed and yawned as he stretched. He shot up and smiled as he looked at the date. “Alright, today’s the day of the game! I can’t wait for everyone to watch me take the stage!” He looked over at Leon’s picture and gave it a thumbs-up, “Just you watch, Lee, I’m gonna be a star just like you!” He rushed to the bathroom and washed up. He walked over to his phone and sighed, “Vic, hasn’t messaged me since yesterday. I sure hope he’s alright.” He reached over it and picked it up.

“Master, I have your breakfast for you.” Jerry’s voice boomed across the halls causing Hop to look up. 

“I’ll be right there!” Hop grabbed his phone and hurried towards the kitchen to eat. Hop looked over and saw a big spread of food in front of him. “Wow, Jerry, you really outdid yourself today!”

“The cooks and I made sure you ate your fill for today’s game! I’m sorry your mother won’t be able to watch, but I heard she’s really close to filtering out the files!” Jerry handed Hop a plate as Hop began to eat his fill.

“That’s alright! I’m glad she’s making progress! I can’t wait till all of this is over! Oh, are my reservations still good to go?” Jerry nodded and showed him a laptop screen.

“Of course! A reservation for two at the town’s most prestigious restaurants! A perfect date for the perfect couple.”

“It’s not too fancy, right? I don’t want Vic, to be overwhelmed,”

“I made sure it’s just perfect for the two of you. And I’ve already made a suit for Victor for the occasion.” Hop smiled wide as he got his sports bag.

“Great! Thanks! I can’t wait for Victor to see it! Well, I’ll be off!” Hop walked with Jerry as he got into the car. He looked down at his phone, and his face dropped slightly as he didn’t get a single text from Victor. He twirled his thumbs and began to text.

_‘Hey, Victor! Are you doing alright? I haven’t heard from you all day, and I kind of missed you’_ Hop put his phone in his pocket and tapped his phone.

“He’s probably swamped...I just have to have faith in him...but what if he doesn’t love me anymore?” Hop slapped his face and shook his head, “Get real, Hop! Victor loves you and wouldn’t do such a thing...but still.” He looked at his phone and sighed, “What’s going on, Vic?”

Hop exited the car and waved off Jerry. He slung over his bag and headed to the locker room. He looked over and saw a crowd of people waiting for the game to start. _Just focus on the game... I’ll call him after it._ He thought as he entered the room to change. Blue and his team were fully dressed, waiting for him, smiling wide at their ace.

“You ready, Hop?” Hop smiled at the third year and set down his bag,

“Yep!” Blue ruffled his hair and the team headed out,

“Alright, we will meet you outside for warm-ups!” As they cleared out, Hop got ready for the game.

_Victor...I hope you’re okay..._ suddenly he heard his phone ring. He quickly ran over and smiled wide as Victor’s name flashed on it. _Oh, thank god!_ He pressed the button and smiled, “Hey, Victor!”

“Hello, Mr. Hop.” His smile changed into a frown as he heard a harsher, more stern voice.

“Mr. Rose?” He quietly uttered the man who caused the twins so much anguish in a scared tone,

“You ready for the big game, lad?” Rose’s voice sounded kind, but Hop saw right through it. Rose’s genuine tone was fake and cunning, not like Victor’s honest and sincere voice.

“What are you doing with Victor’s phone!” Hop’s voice grew angry in the locker room.

“Now, now is this any way to treat your principal? I have you know that Victor is currently with me.”

“What have you done with him?!” Hop felt his phone vibrate, and a video call flashed across the screen. He swallowed hard and clicked it open. There he saw a sight he never wanted to see. Victor was tied up and slightly beaten up. He locked eyes with him and saw his face in a moment in terror and panic. “Victor!” Hop gripped the phone and cried out to him. “Why are you doing this?” He fell to the ground and clutched his cellphone, the roar of the crowd drowning out his pleas. Rose appeared from the corner and smiled,

“You have something of mine...you want your precious Victor, right?” Hop looked as he saw a man in a suit take out a knife and point it towards Victor’s neck. “Now, with the game going on, you’re probably very busy...so in turn for Victor’s freedom, are you willing to sacrifice your dream for a person?”

“Are you saying I should intentionally lose?” Rose smiled and laughed,

“That’s correct! Lose the big game that everyone has been counting you on! And take the USB and bring it to my office, only then I can bring your precious Victor back!” Hop looked over at Victor, who shook his head as the knife drew closer. “Times, ticking Hop.” Hop bit his lip and nodded,

“Alright, I’ll do it...the USB will be in your office after the game.” Rose nodded and turned off the video feed.

“Then the terms are set... you’ll see your Victor tomorrow.” The phone cut off, leaving Hop standing alone in the quiet locker room.

“I’m sorry, Lee looks like it might take me a few more years to get to your level.” Hop looked forward and ran out towards the fields.

“What took you so long, Hop?” Blue smiled as Hop went to his team, a worried look on his face. Blue caught wind and placed his hand on Hop’s shoulder, “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just start this.” Hop’s voice slightly faltered as he walked passed his captain. Hop walked towards the middle of the field and met with Bede, who wore a pink jersey compared to Hop’s purple one.

“Look who finally made it! I am surprised you made it to the field, let alone out of bed.” Hop glared at him and scoffed,

“I’m surprised you play soccer, it must be a pain fixing your hair.” Bede’s face turned red in anger as the referee came up with the ball. ‘ _Vic, how am I going to save you? Would Rose even go back on his word?’_ The sound of the whistle snapped Hop back into reality as Bede zoomed passed him with the ball.

“Hop! Get a gripe!” Blue’s voice shot out from the side as Hop looked back towards his team.

“Sorry!” Hop ran towards Bede, who dodged his way around Hop’s teammates. He noticed Blue intercept the ball from Bede and ran towards the opposite side.

“Here, Hop!” Blue kicked it, and Hop managed to get it. He ran towards the goal and prepared to kick,

_‘Lose the game Hop...then Victor will be safe.’ Rose’s_ voice echoed in his head, and he kicked the ball without thinking. It soared and hit the bar and into the goalie’s hands. 

“Sorry!” Hop looked over at Blue who sighed, 

“Don’t worry about it! We will get them again! Just stay focused.” Hop nodded and turned towards Bede, who smirked at him.

“What’s wrong, Hoppy? Not feeling it today? Something tying you up?” Hop’s face grew angrier as Bede caught the ball and raced towards Hop. Hop was ready to intercept but stopped when Bede causally race passed him. Bede laughed as he scored a clean goal.

“Time out!” Blue shouted as his team gathered around. He turned towards Hop in annoyance. “What’s gotten into you, man? You could’ve easily taken that ball and scored?” Hop looked to the ground and sighed,

“I’m sorry,”

“Enough with being sorry. If you really want to apologize, show it by playing like our ace!” Blue ruffled Hop’s hair as his team went back onto the field. Hop clenched his fist and rubbed the tears from his eyes.

_“Dammit! What do I do??”_

* * *

  
  


Rose closed Victor’s cellphone and dropped it to the ground. He then proceeded to crush it under his foot and smiled towards Victor. The boy looked up at him with fear in his eyes. “Now that Hop will give me what I need, I have no use from you, Victor.” Tears fell from his eyes as Rose pulled out the knife. Rose looked at it and smiled, “With your sister in jail, and your Hop losing his dream and the respect of his fellow peers. To his precious boyfriend. All loose ends must be tied up...except,” Rose walked over and pointed the knife at Victor’s neck.

Victor closed his eyes and cried, ‘Hop...I’m _so sorry, don’t cry too much when I’m gone...and Gloria...I love you...’_ Just then there was a loud bang on the door, followed by the sounds of fighting. Rose put the knife away and looked towards the door.

“What, the hell? Go, see what’s going on!” He motioned for one of the men towards the door. Victor opened his eyes and thought for a moment.

_Could it be?_ Just as the man walked towards the door, it slammed open and fell on top of him. The sun shined brightly as the figure walked forward. Victor recognized it and started to cry. 

“LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE YOU ASSHOLES!” Gloria ran passed Rose and punched one of the men in the gut and kicked him straight in the air on the chin. The other man stood up from the door and ran to grab Gloria, but she grabbed him by the arm and flipped him towards Rose, who got slammed into the wall. Gloria ran towards Victor and used the knife to cut Victor free. “Vic! I’m here!” She hugged him as tears fell from his eyes. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Victor!”


	30. Unexpected Help

“GLORIA!!! YOU CAME TO SAVE ME!! I...I...I...I WAS SO SCARED!!!” She massaged Victor’s head as he hugged her tightly, 

“It’s okay; I’m here now!” She wiped his face with her sleeve and smiled, “You were very brave to make it this far.” He laughed and rubbed his eyes already swollen from the tears.

“How’d you find me? Weren’t you taken away?” She smiled and stood up.

“Let me tell you!”

* * *

Gloria watched as the courthouse came into view, _‘Well, this is it...I guess I won’t see my friends, mom, and Victor anymore…’_ A single tear fell from her eye as the car came to a sudden stop. She braced herself and held her hand in front of her to avoid slamming into the leather seat. _‘What the heck?’_ She watched as the officer who was driving the car get out of the chair.

“What is the meaning of this!?” The officer shouted. Gloria looked over and saw the same person on the motorbike from earlier, park in front of the car. The person took off their helmet to reveal long, light-strawberry blonde hair. They turned to face Gloria and smiled at the girl.

“Ms. Oleana?” Gloria looked out the window and was shocked to see the Vice-principal. “What are you doing here?” Oleana walked towards the police officer and showed her the paper.

“I have word from Mr. Rose that he wants the girl’s trial to be postponed. I even have the document to prove it!” The officer stood back in shock as she grabbed the paper and read through it.

“Well, it all checks out...so I guess I have to take her back to her prison back at home.”

“Wait!” The officer stopped as Oleana pressed the paper forward, “the terms also state that I, Oleana, shall take custody of her for the time being. Mr. Rose does want to question her more.” 

“Well, I’m normally not allowed to let prisoners go, but the document is official from the judge and Mr. Rose, just be careful with her.” The officer walked over to Gloria and pulled her out of the car.

“Let go of me! I don’t want to go near that woman!” Gloria struggled but to no avail. The officer held the cuffs down and handed her to Oleana. Gloria shot a glare at the officer and then back at Oleana, who looked away from her.

“I sure hope Mr. Rose knows what he’s doing, but here.” The officer handed Oleana the key and got back into the car. “Good luck with her, she’s a wild one!” The officer drove off, leaving Gloria behind with Oleana. Gloria turned towards the older woman and stomped her foot.

“Alright, why did you take me from the police? What does Rose want with me? Hasn’t he done enough?” Gloria shouted angrily at Oleana who scoffed,

“Have you always been this unruly? I swear your brother is easier to talk to than you.”

“Well, too bad! You’re stuck with me now! Well, whatever Rose wants to do with me. I have nothing left to give! He’s already taken my freedom from me….but it doesn’t matter...Victor’s already going to break me out, so I won’t rest until Rose gets the justice he deserves-” She stopped when she saw Oleana bow to her. Her long hair was flying forward, almost reaching the ground.

“Please, stop him!” Her voice sounded pained as Gloria watched her bow straight towards her,

“What? Stop him? Aren’t you working for him?” Oleana looked up and shook her head.

“I was, but then I found out what he was doing...I knew it was wrong, but I kept silent about it...that is until Victor was caught into this. Mr. Rose wanted to do awful things to that poor boy. I just had to stop him...but he insisted on throwing you into jail. When I found out that he wanted to push your trial closer, I went and called in a favor…”

“So you faked the document?” 

“Not exactly...the judge who’s overseeing your trial is an old friend of mine, and she said that she was willing to pull some strings to let you go freely a bit. She’s a very kind old woman...but that’s beside the point, you must stop Rose and save Victor!”

“Wait, save him? What happened? He should be at home.” 

“He, he was kidnapped by Rose and taken to the warehouse by the pier...he’s planing on forcing Hop to give him the USB in place of Victor, but he already planned on killing him!” Gloria couldn’t believe her ears; her brother was about to be killed by that vile person.

“Where is he?” Gloria grunted and pulled at the cuffs. “I’m gonna tear that piece of shit limb from limb!” 

“Here, let me-” Oleana stammered and got the key but stopped when Gloria broke free from her cuffs with ease. “Oh, nevermind.” She laughed as Gloria stretched and kicked the air. 

“Show me where he is...and I’ll try to show mercy to him.” Oleana shook her head and placed her hands on Gloria’s shoulders. 

“We need him alive to face justice...but we need those files that Victor had.” Gloria sighed and pouted,

“Fine, but even so, I don’t know where Victor has them...or even if he has it somewhere, I can get to.” Oleana sighed and looked towards the courthouse.

“I guess we can’t put him to justice.” Just then, a black car drove up and stopped in front of them. An old man got out and opened the door to reveal a woman with dark skin step out of the vehicle. She lowered her sunglasses and smiled at Gloria.

“You must be Gloria; your brother has mentioned you a bunch!”

“Wait, you know, Victor?” The woman laughed and smiled wide; her golden eyes shined in the sun.

“Of course, I do! Hop introduced me to him the other day.” Gloria then started to connect the dots and gasped,

“You’re Hop’s mother?!” She nodded and handed her a card.

“Mrs. Eudios of the Eudios Sports Company at your service!” Gloria’s jaw dropped as she saw Hop’s features in his mother.

“So, what are you doing here?” Mrs. Eudios got out a black USB along with some documents and winked, 

“This will prove your innocence! Victor is such a smart lad. We just gotta take this to the judge, and we can bring Rose to justice!” Gloria let out a sigh of relief and smiled,

“That’s amazing!” _Vic, you did it!_ She wiped her face and looked towards Oleana. “Oleana, show me the way to Victor...I’m gonna go rescue him.” Oleana threw the keys to her and smiled,

“You can ride a bike, don’t you? I’ve seen your records...I’ll stay with Mrs. Eudios to gather the police to your location...good luck.” Gloria nodded and grabbed the helmet and sat on the motorbike. The engine roared as she started it up.

_'Hang on Vic; I’m coming for ya!'_


	31. Victory and Glory

Gloria rode around town and saw the docks come into view. She slowed down to a halt and spotted a few men in suits standing around the warehouse. “Looks like there’s only two...and they don’t have any guns...I guess that ban a while back paid off.” She smiled as she got off the bike and walked up to the men. 

“Whoa, little lady! I don’t think you should be here.” One of them stopped her as she walked up. She smiled and tilted her head,

“I’m sorry! I’m a little lost, can you direct me?” One of them smiled and walked up to her.

“Of course, now what’s a cute girl like yourself doing by the piers? Don’t you know things can get dangerous for a lady like yourself?” The two men laughed as Gloria smiled awkwardly, the other one walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder,

“Now, where do you need to go?” Gloria smiles as she placed her hand onto his and promptly squeezed it. He doubled back in pain as she tilted his hand backward. He fell to his knees as he bellowed out in agony.

“What the hell?” the other man went to grab her, but she punched him in the gut, knocking him out. She picked up the other guy and slammed him into the wall.

“Now, listen here! You’re going to tell me where my brother is, and I might let you keep all your fingers.” The man started to sweat, and he pointed inside.

“He’s in there! But I don’t know if he might be alive still...Mr. rose is about to end him!” She raised her brow and threw the man towards the ground. He looked up at her and tried to stand, but she stepped on his hand.

“If you know what’s good for you...you’d be a good boy and stay put.” She faced the door and took a deep breath. She kicked the door down with a loud “BANG” She ran inside and saw a few men milling about.

“What the hell?” One of them stood up and pointed, but Gloria ran up to him and struck him in the chin with her palm and flipped him over the table. She looked over at another one and dodged his punch and kicked him square in the face.

“Someone take that girl out!” A guy with a pipe ran up towards her and swung at her head but stood her ground. Blood fell from her forehead as she grabbed the tube and bent it back. She smiled and kneed the guy in the stomach.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” She dodged a few more punches and jumped away as one of them tried to stab her with a knife. She kicked his hand, causing him to reel back in pain. She then jumped and kicked him towards the wall. She looked around and heard loud footsteps coming from behind. She winced as large hands grabbed her and lifted her. 

“Lookie at what I got fellas, a little toy!” Gloria turned and saw a large man holding her up. “I’m gonna have fun with you.” 

“Oh, piss off!” Gloria kicked him in the face causing him to let her go. “You think just cause you’re a big guy you can play with anything you want?” She punched him in the gut and kicked him in the chin. “Well, you messed with the wrong girl!” She grabbed him by the arm and threw him against the ground, causing the ground to shake. Gloria looked around and saw a room and caught a small glimpse of her brother tied up. She gritted her teeth and ran towards the door. She took a deep breath and kicked it down.

* * *

“And that’s pretty much it!” Gloria helped Victor stand as she finished her story.

“Holy crap sis! That’s amazing! But you’re hurt!” Victor touched her forehead and dried the blood with the cloth from his blazer. She smiled and cried as he wiped it.

“I missed you, Victor! Thanks for being there-” She winced as Victor slapped her across the face. She slowly looked up and stared at him in the eye. “Vic?”

“Gloria...you idiot!” Victor stared at her, tears in his eyes. “Why’d you go and pull a stunt like that? We had a chance to escape! If it weren’t for Hop, I wouldn’t have known what to do! So why did you leave me behind again!” His voice rang in her ears as she touched her cheek, still burning from his hand. 

“I’m sorry, Vic, but I felt like it was the right choice, you’re very smart, and I trusted you and Hop to put Rose to justice...but I guess I was too focused on protecting you I didn’t realize you wanted to do the same for me. I’m sorry.” She hugged him again and cried, “You and I always have to watch each other’s back, right?”

“Yeah, just like always!” Just then, a pair of hands grabbed Gloria and pulled her away from Victor. “Gloria!” He shouted as Rose held a gun to Gloria’s head,

“I’ve had enough of you two brats! I don’t know how you got free, but I’ll make sure you two don’t ever see the light of day!” Gloria tried to move, but Rose pressed the gun towards her head. Victor looked down and saw the knife on the ground near his foot. He looked up at Gloria, who nodded. He kicked it up and threw it towards them. Gloria then stepped on Rose’s foot and ducked as the knife knocked the gun out of his hand. 

“Gloria, now!” Victor shouted as Gloria punched Rose in the chin.

“That was for trying to put me in jail!” She kicked him in the stomach,

“That was for ruining our school year!” She then stepped back and kicked him straight into the face.

“And that was for all the pain you caused, Victor!” Rose crashed into the wall causing it to dent. He laid onto the ground, bleeding. Gloria faced Victor and the twins high-fived.

“Your form has improved, Glori!”

“Not as improved as your aim! That was amazing!” The twins looked down at Rose, who was breathing but laid motionless. Just then, the twins heard sirens and walked outside. They saw a group of police officers surround the warehouse. Their mother ran up and hugged the twins.

“Oh, thank goodness you two are okay!” 

“Mom?” Gloria shouted, “What are you doing here?” She turned towards her daughter and smiled,

“I felt really awful at my behavior. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing, thankfully I received a call from Oleana, and I knew I had to call the police to come find you both!” She turned towards Gloria and pushed back her hair, “I’m sorry for being a terrible mother...Gloria, you were fearless in protecting Victor...I’m proud of you!” 

“Thanks...Mom...I’m glad he’s okay.” Gloria then cried in her mother’s arms, “I was so scared...I was scared that I almost lost him!” Victor smiled as he saw his sister release all her pain.

_I’m glad to be your twin, Gloria…_ “Wait, Ms. Oleana? Isn’t she working for Rose?” Victor then saw Gloria laugh and shake her head,

“I’ll explain later, but let’s say she’s on our side, and she and Mrs. Eudios finally have the papers to put Rose to justice.” Victor smiled wide and hugged Gloria,

“That’s amazing! We can finally be free of all this! I’m glad Hop’s mom was able to pull...through…” Just then Victor then shouted and grabbed Gloria,

“Wait! Gloria! I need to get to Hop! Rose threatened him to throw the game for me! I need to go and cheer him on!” Gloria then smiled and took his hand,

“Okay, we can take my motorcycle! I can get us there in a flash!”

“Wait, your motorcycle?”

“Long story! Let’s go save your boyfriend!” Gloria laughed as she and Victor ran towards the bike.

“Hang on, Hop! I’m coming to save you!” Victor shouted as they rode off towards the school.


	32. Leaping towards the future.

Hop looked at the scoreboard. His face full of dismay at the zero and three...his team was losing, and all he could do is stand back and watch as the crowd began to boo at him. Hop shook his head and raced towards the ball. ‘ _I have to at least score one goal!’_ Hop dodged and dug his foot towards the ground and kicked the ball into the goal, earning a point for his team. He silently cheered to himself but clutched his heart.

_‘Scoring goals used to be so fun, but it just hurts...I don’t know what to do! I want to save the boy I love, but I can’t give up my dream… ‘_

“Hey, Hoppy!” Bede scoffed and brushed back his hair and grinned, “You seem so out of sorts? What’s the matter? You had a bad break-up?” He then got closer to Hop and smiled, “Or maybe you’re not as good as you think you are!” Hop clenched his fist and stared as Bede walked away.

_‘This guy is pissing me off...but I have to deal with this for Vic,’_ Hop ran towards the ball and eyed the goal. He dodged and smiled as he prepared to shoot, but froze when an image of Victor, flashed into his mind. Just then, Hop tripped and fell towards the ground. He looked over, and Bede laughed as he took the ball and scored another goal.

“Pathetic! Is this how you truly are? What a disgrace!” Bede walked off as a timeout was called. Hop angrily punched the ground and gripped the grass. He bit his lip as a small number of tears fell onto the ground.

_‘This is the worst! I might lose my one chance at true love, and I might lose something close to me...I don’t know what to do...Victor...I miss you so much, it hurts!’_ Hop stared at the ground, dejected at what his life has become. ‘ _If only I could have told him that I loved him in the first place, all of this wouldn’t have happened.’_

“Here, let me help you up.” A hand reached out towards him as he slowly took it.

“Thanks-” He looked up and saw Victor and Gloria smiling at him, the sun shining on them as Hop rubbed his eyes. “Victor? Gloria?” Hop stood back in shock as the twins pulled him off the field. Even though Victor was beaten up and bruised, he still managed to battle through the aches and pains he went through.

“Hey, Hop.” Victor smiled as he held Hop’s hand. “You look a little down,”

“What’s going on? I thought I saw you tied up by Rose and Gloria. I thought you were in jail?” Hop’s mind was going a mile a minute; he was confused. His boyfriend, alive and well! And his friend, free to move around again. Gloria then hooked her arm around Victor and smiled,

“Long story, but thanks to everyone, Vic and I are safe!” Hop locked eyes with Victor and smiled; he slowly brought his hands up and slowly put them down. His eyes started to water as tears fell from his face. He tried to hold back from crying, but the joy of seeing Victor’s smiling face was too much to bear.

“Thank, goodness, you’re okay!” He started to cry as Victor ran over to hug him. The pain in Hop’s heart subsided as Victor’s warm body embraced him, “I was so worried for you... I’m so sorry for not protecting you, Victor!” Victor buried his face into Hop’s jersey, causing it to dampen with the boy’s tears.

“I’m here now, Hop! You don’t have to be scared! When I was kidnapped, I feared that I wouldn’t see you again. But I thought about you the entire time I was captured. I’m glad too, Hop! But right now, you need to do something, right?” Hop looked back at the field and smiled as he looked at Gloria and Victor.

“Right! I promised to deliver you the winning goal kick, and I plan on keeping that!” Hop hugged Victor and laughed, “Thank you for being my pillar.” He felt Victor push him away, slowly. He raised a brow as he saw his Victor blushing furiously. Victor slowly bent up on his toes and grabbed his face and pulled Hop into a kiss, practically leaping into his arms. Hop’s eyes widened as Victor’s lips crashed onto his. His body was slowly melting in comfort as the two boys kissed each other. As Victor separated from him, the smaller boy let out a light chuckle,

“For luck! I know it’s not much, but do your best, Hop! I...I...I...I love you!” He screamed, causing Hop to turn red. Hop looked over at Gloria who laughed,

“Don’t go and say some embarrassing stuff like that, Vic! I’m at an important game right now.” Hop looked away and tried to hide his face from view,

“Oh? It looks like Hoppy here is embarrassed by Vic!” Gloria laughed as she slapped Hop’s back causing him to stagger forward,

“Ow! Careful, I bruise easily!” Hop rubbed his back and grimaced as the slap stung slightly. Victor laughed and gently rubbed his back.

“Is this better, Hop?” Hop nodded and beamed,

“Yeah, thanks to you.” The sound of the whistle blew across the field, Hop turned back to the twins and smiled, “That’s my cue! I got a game to win! Oh, and Victor, are you free this weekend?” Victor crossed his arms and stared at the sky, almost playfully dragging along his thought process.

“I don’t know, I might be busy, but I guess I can squeeze some free time for my boyfriend.” Victor grinned at Hop, who jumped up into the air in excitement.

“Kick their ass, Hop!” Gloria shouted as Hop slapped his face and raced back onto the field. Victor took a deep breath and yelled,

“I BELIEVE YOU HOP, SHOW THAT POMPOUS PUNK WHO HE SHOULDN’T MESS WITH!” Hop blushed as he heard Victor cheer him on. He grinned at Bede, a new determined look in his face.

“Prepare yourself, Bede, today’s the day you lose!” He pointed at Bede, who stood back in shock.

“This wasn’t part of the plan! Mr. Rose said that he’d make sure our team wins, so as long as this Victor is with him! I don’t understand!” Hop laughed as he looked back at Victor then back at Bede,

“Seem like you underestimated them, but more importantly….me.” Just as the whistle blew, like a blur of purple, Hop intercepted the ball and raced passed Bede, who didn’t have time to react. Hop dodged a few players before kicking it towards Blue.

“Nice! Hop!” Blue rolled kicked it back towards Hop, who was wide open. Hop jumped up and rolled the ball towards the goal. He looked towards the goal and caught a glimpse of Victor, who was watching in excitement. He angled his foot and shot it cleanly into the goal, earning another point.

“GO, HOP!” Victor shouted as Gloria gave him a thumbs-up. Hop smiled and flashed a peace sign at Victor. He then ran back and walked past Bede and whispered,

“I hope you like the taste defeat! Cause you picked the wrong person to mess with, Bidet.” Bede’s face turned red, and he pointed angrily at Hop.

“It’s BEDE, you oaf!” Hop snickered and lifted his head at Bede, his voice taunting him.

“Oh, I know.” 

Victor watched as Hop cleanly swept through Bede’s team. He jumped and shook Gloria, “Did, you see that, Gloria! Isn’t Hop amazing?” 

“Yeah, he sure is! Victor, I’m glad that you guys have each other. It’s nice to see you happy again!” Victor looked over at his sister and smiled wide,

“It’s all thanks to you, Gloria! Thank you so much for being my sister and watching over me! I love you so much!” Gloria let out a small smile and hugged Victor,

“I love you too!” Victor watched as the score was an even tie. He watched as Hop was set up for a final kick. The clock was ticking slowly, and everyone was counting on him.

“You can do it, Hop!” Victor uttered as Hop took a deep breath. He slowly opened his eyes and, as if in slow motion, saw a clear opening to the goal. He bobbed and weaved around the players before meeting up with Bede.

“I won’t let you win!” Bede shouted as he tried to kick the ball away from Hop, but Hop smiled and kicked it between his legs and kicked it straight through the goalie’s hands. Hop smiled as the ball made its mark on the net. The whistle blew as the time ended. The roar of the crowd boomed across the field in a mix of cheers and cries. Hop watched as Victor ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

“You did it! I’m so proud of you, Hop!” Victor nuzzled his face into Hop’s chest as they laid on the grass.

“It was thanks to you, Vic! If you didn’t agree to help me that day, then none of this would’ve happened.” He brushed back Victor’s hair and noticed a purple mark on his boyfriend’s head. He slowly sat up and took Victor’s hands and gently grasped them. He slowly pulled back Victor’s sleeves, and his face became enraged as he saw bruises on Victor’s wrist. “Rose did this to you….”

“Hop, I’m okay…” Victor slowly pulled Hop up and smiled, “I’m fine, there’s no need to worry-” Victor then clutched his head, and he fell forward.

“Victor!” Gloria shouted as Hop caught him. Hop glanced over at Victor who laid his arm over his face, slowly breathing in and out,

“I’m okay, I’m just a little dizzy,” Victor uttered he let out a small smile and brought his hand up to Hop’s face and slowly caressed his cheek. Hop took it and kissed his hand gently,

“You, idiot...you’ve been through so much, but I think you need another doctor visit.” Gloria wiped her face as she knelt down next to Victor. “I think you and Hop deserve some nice time together.” She smiled as the paramedics came by with a stretcher. Gloria looked over at Hop and motioned towards the ambulance,

“Are you sure? He’s your brother!” 

“I can see him later, for now, just be with him. It’s what he really wants the most, after all.” Hop let out a reluctant nod and walked inside the ambulance. Gloria watched as the crowd dispersed, and the ambulance driving away towards the hospital. Gloria remembered fearing for Victor’s life the last time she heard the sirens, but this time around, that fear turned into relief, knowing that her brother was going to be okay. 

“I’ll have to thank you for saving your brother’s life.” Oleana walked over to Gloria a few papers in hand, “But I can’t help but noticed that you went a little too far with Rose.

“He had it coming,” Gloria smiled wide as Oleana shook her head,

“I hope you do realize it would postpone the trial against you!” She slightly raised her voice but then let out a laugh, “But thanks to Mrs. Eudios, we have evidence to prove your innocence.” Gloria let out a sigh of relief and leaned against a nearby pole,

“Thank goodness! I was starting to hate being in that jail cell.”

“But, there’s still the matter of you breaking into Rose’s office, a matter I cannot let slip by.” 

“Oh, right.” Gloria chuckled as she remembered that it was her that kicked down the door. She then hugged her arm and looked up at Oleana begrudgingly, “I guess I have to face the consequences then.”

“Yes, unfortunately...but since you did expose the old principal. I guess I can let this one slide. That is if you help the police in answering questions. We would ask, Victor, but he’s been through enough.” Oleana grinned as she placed her hand on Gloria’s shoulder, “I hope you’ll respect the new principal this time around. I’ll see you next week, Gloria.” She walked away towards the school with a newfound spring in her step. 

“Gloria, I’m so proud of you!” Mrs. Williams hugged her daughter and lifted her up slightly, “I’m so sorry you had to go through all this!”

“Thanks, mom. I’m okay now, I’m just glad I was able to save Victor in time.” She looked down at her hands and felt the bruises on her hands, the same ones that used to hurt Hop and Victor but at the same time save them. She looked up and smiled at her mom as the lights from the school turned on. “Can we go home? I missed my bed and your food!” Mrs. Williams laughed as she hugged her daughter,

“Of course! I’ll make extras, and we can even give some to Vic when we visit him tomorrow. Now, let’s go home.” Gloria nodded and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, slowly nodding off from the ordeal that was finally put to a close.


	33. Recovery

A week has passed, and word spread like crazy as the news of Rose’s illegal dealings were made public. The whole school went into an immense buzz as reporters and officers questioned almost every student, faculty, and staff alike. Gloria was able to go back to school like normal, but even then, she was swarmed by her fellow classmates.

“Gloria! We are sorry we ever doubted you!” A few students ran up to her and bowed, “We were wrong for saying all those mean things about you to your brother.” Gloria let out a small laugh as she waved her hands,

“It’s fine now! I’m just glad to be back, but I really must go visit, Victor. He should be out of the hospital by now!” She waved at her classmates and walked towards the gate. There she saw Hop waiting for her. He smiled and waved at her. She ran up to him and high-fived him.

“You ready to see your boyfriend, Hoppy?” Hop turned red and placed his hands in his pockets.

“Don’t call me that! Only Victor can-” He covered his mouth as Gloria beamed wide at him.”

“Oh, looks like Hop ain’t the only one that uses pet names. That’s so cute!” She made kissy faces at him as he covered his ears.

“Gloria, please! Don’t tell him that I get flustered easily when he does cute stuff!” 

“I promise!” Gloria smiled as they walked towards the station to visit Victor. _Just wait till Vic here’s this._

Gloria and Hop walked towards the front counter and laughed as the nurse pointed towards Victor’s room without pause,

“He’s in there. He should be awake by now.” Gloria thanked the nurse as they walked into Victor’s room, who was excitedly playing his switch. He looked up and smiled as Gloria and Hop walked in.

“Gloria! Hoppy! It’s good to see you!” Hop blushed as he rushed to cover Victor’s mouth,

“Shhh! Don’t call me that!” 

“But you let me call you that?” Victor tilted his head as Gloria started to burst out laughing,

“Yeah, but it’s so embarrassing, and now your sister won’t let me hear the end of it.” Hop sighed as Victor giggled at him.

“Anyways, didya hear? Tomorrow morning I get to leave the hospital!”

“That’s great, Vic!” Gloria sat on Victor’s bed and let out a huge sigh, “As for me, I have to cram a bunch of stuff that I missed. And it’s harder cause I don’t have your notebook!”

“Yeah, I don’t know where it went...I think Rose took it when he kidnapped me.” Victor leaned back onto the bed and sighed,

“Oh, uh...I actually have it with me, still.” Hop reached into his bag and pulled out the notebook, “I kept it safe for you, Vic.” 

“YOU WHAT?” Gloria shot up and grabbed Hop by his jacket. “You had his notebook on you, and you didn’t tell me? I almost freaked out cause I couldn’t remember anything because of you!” 

“Wahhh, I’m sorry! I just remembered it myself!” Hop’s face became dizzy as she shook him. Victor then laughed out loud to the point of tears.

“I’m sorry, but this kind of reminds me of when you two first met! It was so rocky between the three of us, but now...we are closer than ever! I’m so glad to have met you, Hop!” Victor’s smile warmed Gloria and Hop’s hearts as she released him.

“Well, no matter at least now I can study for the exams!” Gloria grabbed the notebook from Hop. “Thanks for letting me use it, Vic!”

“Wait, I still need it for the other exams!” Hop grabbed it back and pulled it towards him. “It’s not fair that you get to use it! I’m his boyfriend!”

“Well, I’m his sister! So I get priority!” Gloria pulled it back, fighting Hop over the notebook. Victor stood up and walked over to them. He placed his hand’s on their shoulders and smiled,

“Guys, please refrain from ripping my precious notebook...after all, I need to use it for my own stuff too.” Suddenly a huge chill crawled up Hop and Gloria’s spine as they released the notebook into Victor’s hands. “That’s more like it! Now, I will take it from here.”

“Wait, Victor!” They shouted in unison as they reached out towards Victor.

“What for?” Victor slammed the notebook shut as the two jumped from the noise. Gloria jabbed Hop on the side and motioned him to talk to Victor.

“Well, uh, so would it be alright if you showed us the material? We can even copy it ourselves!” Hop shut his eyes and awaited the brutal response from his boyfriend.

“That sounds like a good idea! I’ll get us started!” Victor smiled as he sat on the bed. Gloria and Hop let out a big sigh of relief. Hop looked over at Gloria, who gave him a nod of approval. The trio sat and laughed as they wrote down all the stuff Victor taught. Hop looked up at Victor and smiled as he was showing Gloria the correct steps.

“Hop?” Victor’s sweet voice snapped Hop back into reality,

“Yeah?” Hop started to sweat as Victor got close to him.

“Are you alright?” Hop nodded furiously as Victor looked up at him.

“Yep! I’m fine! Just need some air!” He got up and walked outside. He slowly paced the floor and thought to himself, _I want to ask him on a date, but I’m too much of a coward! Come on, Hop! You can do it, you idiot! You survived him almost dying twice!_ He placed his head on the wall and sighed, “I want to ask you, Vic.”

“Ask me what?” Hop jumped as Victor peered out of the doorway. Hop was bright red like a strawberry; he swallowed hard and stood up straight.

“Victor...would….you like….” Hop stumbled across his words as he tried to squeeze out every bit, “To...to...go out on a date with me this weekend?” Victor paused, then started to laugh. Hop tilted his head and threw his arms back, “Why are you laughing? Is that a no?” Victor wiped a tear from his eyes and pulled Hop close to him.

“Hop, you big dummy. I already said yes a while back! Of course, I’ll go out with you!” Victor pulled at Hop’s tie and kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh, right...I forgot I did ask you that at the game...I guess I really am a big dummy.” Hop scratched his face as Victor beamed back at him,

“The biggest kind, but that’s okay! I still love you!” Victor gave Hop a quick peck on the lips before grinning again,

“Get a room you two!” Gloria shouted causing both boys to blush,

“Right, shall we go back to studying?” Hop held out his hand and laughed as Victor took his,

“Yeah, lets!”


	34. That special someone

“You ready for your big date Victor?” Gloria knocked on the bathroom door as she waited for her brother.

“I don’t know...I feel stuffy in all this.” His voice sounded shaky as he shuffled in his suit. He looked at the mirror and smiled at himself. Jerry stopped by the house a few hours before the date and gave Victor a red suit jacket with black slacks. Apparently, the place was very posh,

_I don’t know about fancy dining...but at least I read up on it just in case._ Victor brushed his hair and smiled as his hair swirl, swished upwards as always. He opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom where his mother and sister were waiting. Gloria let out a loud whistle and smiled,

“Looking good there, Victor! It fits so so well.” Victor shot a glare at Gloria and then looked up at his mother who kissed his head,

“You look great! Hop’s gonna flip when he sees how cute you look!” 

“MOM!” Victor blushed and pushed her away, “It’s one thing for Hop to call me cute, but when you do it. It feels weird!” 

“I’m sorry, son. But it’s rare to see you going out on a date!” She brushed back his hair and touched the hair, swirl, “Want me to get some gel to keep that down?” Victor touched his hair and shook his head.

“No! I mean, no, it’s fine...I kind of like it like that.”

“You mean, Hop likes it!” Gloria laughed and took a picture of Victor, who was bright red as his suit jacket. She glanced at her watch and pushed Victor towards the door, “Come on, you can’t keep Hop waiting!” 

“Oh, okay. Bye, mom! I’ll see you later!” He waved her goodbye as he walked passed,

“Oh, and don’t worry about coming home late! I’m sure Hop would love to have you over at his place! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“MOM!” Victor laughed as the door closed behind him. Victor walked with Gloria as Jerry was waiting outside,

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, Vic!” Gloria hugged him and smiled as he grinned back at her, 

“You make it sound like I’m leaving forever.”

“You’re right, but I guess it’s more like saying goodbye to the old you. The one who clung onto his sister most of his childhood. You’ve been through so much, and, amazingly, you are still here.”

“It’s all thanks to you and Hop. If you didn’t tell me to go for him, I wouldn’t be standing here, going on a date with the love of my life.” He laughed as he looked up towards the sky. The sun was slowly setting down on them. “So, thanks, Gloria, for everything! For rescuing me, for being my protector and being someone I could always count on!”

“Aww, Vic, save that mushy stuff for Hop! But I want to thank you for being there for me when we were at our lowest. Being that light that shined my way to get better! I love you!” She hugged him tightly, “Now go have fun with Hop, and get me some cake!”

“Of course, what kind of person would I be! Hop’s paying for everything anyway, so I’ll get you some good cake!” Victor winked as he got into the car. “I’ll see you later during school, Gloria!” She watched as they drove off towards the town.

_See you later, Victor! I can’t believe how much we both grown up._ She smiled as she walked back inside.

“So is Hop waiting for me, Mr. Jerry?” Victor asked as he sat in the Eudios’ family car.

“He requested that I’d pick you up and bring you to him.” Jerry looked up at the window and smiled, “Does that suit fit you well?” Victor nodded and held his arms out.

“Yeah, it fits perfectly! I heard from Hop that you helped make this! You have to teach me sometime!”

“Of course! You are spending the weekend over with the young master. I can teach you what I know!” Jerry smiled wide as he neared the restaurant. “Here, we are! Wyndon Cuisine!” Jerry stepped out of the car and opened the door for the young boy.

“Thanks, Jerry! I guess I’ll see you later!”

“Take care! And don’t worry, the place may look fancy, but it’s not super posh or anything...just have fun!” He bent down and quietly whispered to Victor, “I’d stay away from the shrimp though, the blandest thing to ever exists.” Victor giggled and gave Jerry a thumbs-up

“Sure, thing!”

Victor quietly walked and saw a flash of purple as he approached his boyfriend. 

“Victor you look-” Hop stared and began to blush as Victor sat down,

“Do I look okay? I’m sorry if I don’t look fancy enough.” Hop shook his head and hid his face in the menu,

“You, look cute...absolutely stunning…” Victor giggled as he pulled up the menu.

“I can’t hear you if you’re hiding your face like that!” Hop began to pout as he locked eyes with him.

“You look super cute tonight!” Hop raised his voice, causing Victor to blush and hide his face on the table, “See! Not so high and mighty now!”

“Okay, I get your point…” He laughed as he looked around the restaurant. “This place is amazing; I’m amazed that you were able to reserve a spot here!” His eyes were full of stars as Hop grinned and lifted his head,

“Well, when your mom is the literal CEO of a pretty big company. The perks are pretty nice.” Victor raised his brow and smirked,

“Oh? Like what?”

“Like, taking my favorite person in the entire universe on the best dinner date ever! Thanks for giving me a second chance!”

“I should be the one thanking you, Hop. For everything!” Victor twiddled his thumbs as he spoke, “I’m glad you didn’t give up on me. You gave us a second chance and now.” He smiled wide, “I’ve never been happier! Thanks so much for being you!” Hop’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Victor practically shine so brightly. He looked away as Vic was almost blinding him.

“You’re welcome...I’m glad that you and I had a chance to be together. Now, tell me, how’d you guys managed to break out of Rose’s clutches?” Victor laughed and got closer to Hop.

“Alright, Mr. Eudios, take some notes cause I have a story for you!” 


	35. A bright future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, JJ here! Thanks so much for coming along the ride of my recent project! I'll be taking a smallish break and see if I can continue my other series up until the dlc. Or if a new AU comes up!

Gloria and Hop walked inside the gym and watched as the archery clubs lined up for the tournament.

“It’s about to start, but where’s Victor?” Hop asked as he sat down.

“I don’t know; he said that he was gonna be here. We have to be quiet though, these kinds of things are very strict on tradition.” Gloria looked at her phone and pouted, “I sure hope he didn’t get lost.”

“It’s fine; he’s not one to let things get to him.” Hop looked over and smiled wide, “Wait, there!” He pointed off towards the direction and saw his Victor in his archery club uniform, walking behind his teammates, a serious but proud look on his face.

“He looks different like that. Doesn’t he Hop?” Gloria looked over and laughed as Hop was taking pictures of Victor.

“Huh? Did you say something? I was too busy taking pictures of how cute my boyfriend is! I still can’t believe he got on the team again.”

“Yeah, Mr. Kabu told him he could join since he felt awful about the Rose situation. I can’t even tell you how much Victor practiced at home. It was nuts! His hands were red, but he managed to do it in the end. I’m proud of him!”

Victor looked over at Mr. Kabu and nodded towards him, he caught a quick glimpse of Hop and Gloria, but for the sake of the tournament, he only gave them a small glance, _Okay, Victor, just like the usual._ He thought, as he knelt down and took a deep breath, he gripped the bow and felt the softwood around his hand. He slowly stood up and notched the arrow on the bowstring. He turned towards the target and stared at it while drawing the shaft, not losing focus of the black and white target. He took a deep breath and released the arrow, sending it soaring across the sky, hitting dead center. The gym quietly watched in awe as Victor hit every target, dead center. He notched the final arrow and stared at Hop. He winked at him before releasing the last arrow. ‘ _Thanks for everything, Hop. I love you!’_ He bowed towards the judges and smiled to himself. Victor looked back at the first meeting with Hop. How he instantly fell head over heels for him the moment they locked eyes at the candy store. _I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything..._ He looked up towards the ceiling, eagerly waiting for whatever the future holds for his sister, his boyfriend, and himself.


End file.
